War Before Time I: Mentors of Yesteryears
by The Mr E
Summary: What happens when Littlefoot convinces Doc to train him?  His adventures take a turn for the epic as he and his friends grow into sharptooth-crushing warriors.  Will their new skills be enough to face Red Claw?  Find out in this action-packed adventure foreshadowing a war none could imagine.
1. Chapter 1: Littlefoot's Mentor

**If you've read 'The Battle Before Time', you will recognise the first one and a half chapters of this story. However, 'Mentors of Yesteryears' marks the beginning of the expansion of The Battle Before Time, so keep reading and you'll find something new to sink your teeth into. This story lays the ground work, sort of like a montage transitioning from The Land Before Time we all know and love to the war on the horizon. Well ... sort of The Land Before Time we know and love.**

**I've made minor continuity changes and elaborations.**

**1) The scale difference between sharpteeth and leaf-eaters is truer to life, with Littlefoot's species being much larger than predators in general. That doesn't mean sharpteeth are not a threat, though – think wolves vs. bison. However, the scale isn't necessarily completely accurate. Rogue sharpteeth have a tendency to grow larger than their somewhat more social counterparts. Sharptooth from the original movie, and Red Claw from the TV series are classified as rogues, who are pretty close to the weight class of an apatosaurus like Littlefoot.**

**2) In the original series, Doc (who is heavily implied to be 'The Lone Dinosaur') had not exhibited too many impressive feats outside of fables. He seems to be a proficient fighter, but I don't recall seeing him launch more than a single attack. I decided to expand on his abilities.**

**3) Dinosaur lifespans were never specified in the original series ... if memory serves. In this story's continuity, longnecks can get pretty old, and remain surprisingly active. This would make sense in the original series, since Littlefoot's grandfather and Doc are still capable of fighting sharpteeth. If Doc really is The Lone Dinosaur, that would make him even older than Grandpa Longneck. This is supported by the fact that his species may have had long lifespans in real life.**

**Enjoy! **

* * *

Chapter 1

Littlefoot's Mentor

* * *

_Hi! My name's Littlefoot. If you know anything about my friends and I, you know that our childhood was weird ... and wonderful ... and scary. It's all 'Oooh! Aaah!' Then comes the running and the screaming. I mean, I was sure my journey ended with The Great Valley. Turns out with a touch of bravery, adventures find you no matter what you do, leaving your poor folks unsure of whether they should be proud or petrified enough to keep you in your nest forever. You know, no matter how crazy life got, there are some things you'd think would always stay the same. Earthshakes come, but the world never fully crumbles. You wake up every day to find it beneath you. You look up every night to see the stars too high for a flyer to reach. Fire is hot, ice is cold. Up is up, down is down. Well ... I was wrong. Everything can crumble, and it can crumble in ways you never imagined. The stars can come crashing down on your head. Fire can be cold. The world you thought you knew can turn upside down. You fight it. You hold on together 'till the end. Then the end comes and you look around._

_The world as you knew it is gone forever._

_Sounds like a sleep story? Yeah ... I know. To be honest, I'm not sure how best to explain the unexplainable. How about I begin with how it all started. Yeah, sounds like a plan._

_Chomper and Ruby had been living with us for a while when Doc, 'The Lone Dinosaur', came to the valley on one of his visits._

* * *

Littlefoot watched in awe as Doc blazed through what was apparently his morning routine. Moving with grace and speed belying his size, the giant sauropod skillfully battled nonexistent foes with his tail, sending thunder cracks throughout the canyon as it split the air like a mega-sized whip. Always moving, he bolstered his lashing attacks with shoulder shoves, chest bumps, knee jabs and the occasional headbutt. It seemed any part of his body was a workable weapon. Littlefoot could practically see the imaginary sharpteeth he felled. Before long, the adult's keen eyes spotted the young longneck staring up at him.

"Um ... hi," Littlefoot greeted. "Didn't mean to spy on you like that."

"No harm done, kid," the adult replied in his gravelly voice.

Littlefoot's excitement took over from there.

"Doc, how do you _move_ like that? You're so **_big!"_** gawked the youngster, before catching himself. "I- I mean, I'm not saying you _shouldn't _be able to move like that. I mean, you _are_ The Lone Dinosaur, after all! It's just that I've never seen grownup longnecks do it without hurting themselves!"

Doc gave a dry chuckle. "Been conditioning my bones and muscles since I was young. Figured that if I kept it up, I'd never lose my agility as a grownup."

Littlefoot's eyes lit up. "Could you teach me?"

Doc shook his head. "No. You might break somethin' if you don't do it right. I did. Several times, actually. Aren't those tail tricks I taught you good enough?"

"They were ... great," Littlefoot slowly stated. "But I wanna learn how to fight: I mean_ **really **_fight!"

Doc frowned. "You don't want the life of a fighter. The fight will chase you, no matter where you go, like a sharptooth on a trail. Trust me. You've got a better life ahead of you. B'sides, I was just visitin' - be gone by the next time The Bright Circle's high."

Littlefoot sighed and lowered his head in disappointment.

Doc stared at the child and an odd look crossing his face. The youngster had experienced so many harrowing escapades. Too many for a kid his age. It was scary to think of the number of times he'd left The Great Valley without adult supervision. The Mysterious Beyond was calling to him. Why did he heed its voice? For the call of adventure? Sometimes, perhaps, but more than anything, for friends, for family, even for total strangers. And who were these dinosaurs? Longnecks? Leaf-eaters? No. They could be anyone. Some of them weren't even 'dinosaurs'. The world was on his shoulders, and it would only get heavier as Littlefoot discovered just how big the world was. It didn't help that the kid was too curious for his own good. Doc had found his place among the legends, whether he liked it or not. He had become 'The Lone Dinosaur', immortalised as a hero. What would Littlefoot become? Doc didn't know, but he was sure that the youngster would be greater than The Lone Dinosaur had ever been, in part because he would never be alone. Wherever he went, his friends would be there. If none went with him, he would make new friends. However, he had to survive long enough to step into his destiny.

"Guess my stay got extended a few years," Doc mused. "Dara likes it here. We could settle down."

Littlefoot stared at the adult in abject confusion. "Huh? But … you're a _wanderer."_

_"'Was',"_ Doc corrected, turning to leave. "We'll start tomorrow. Meet me here at daybreak."

He smiled as the youngster's whoops and 'woo hoos' met his ears.

* * *

Day 1

* * *

To say Littlefoot arrived at 'daybreak' was a bit of an understatement. The child had Doc wondering if he'd slept there, but as the grownup commenced with his morning routine-turned-tutorial, Littlefoot was the one left wondering.

"What in the world are you doing?" asked a thoroughly baffled Littlefoot. "Not to be rude, of course.

For the past minute or so, Doc had been rubbing his scales against the side of a cliff.

"Perfect place for a rock bath," the adult stated before rolling on the stone floor, trying to expose the hard surface to every possible inch of his skin.

"A 'rock bath'?" asked Littlefoot.

"Yeah," Doc answered. "It turns your skin to stone. Makes it hard for sharpteeth to leave a mark."

Littlefoot couldn't help but let his eyes wander to the scar running down Doc's temple and neck.

"Well, most sharpteeth," Doc amended, catching his gaze. "Didn't get this from a sharptooth. I got it from THE Sharptooth."

Littlefoot gasped. Among the predators, there was one who stood above them all. Epitomising the concept of the sharptooth, he was known only by the blanket term that encompassed his kind.

"Funny enough, you could thank Sharptooth for what I'm teachin' you," Doc stated with a note of bitterness in his voice. "He took my sister, my last flesh and blood in this world. I tried to fight him. He was practically invincible. Barely made it out with my life. So, I followed him, tryin' to learn his secrets. One day, I found him rock bathing. Saw him pushing his body beyond the limits of his kind. I adopted his techniques. Took them further. Was determined to be faster and stronger than he had ever been. For years, we fought, neither able to finish the other. Then one day, word came from a flier that a couple o' kids lured Sharptooth into a waterhole, shoved a rock on top of him and that was that."

Littlefoot opened his mouth to state that he and his friends were the 'couple o' kids', but the smile on Doc's face confirmed that he already knew.

"'Journey to Big Water' ,'Land of Mists', 'Stone of Cold Fire': a few of the legends you've lived, and you're bound to live more," Doc stated.

"I wouldn't call them 'legends'," Littlefoot declined.

"I would," Doc declared. "That's why I gotta stay here, to see this through."

Littlefoot stared at the ground. "So ... I'm holding you back?"

Doc laughed - an increasingly common occurrence that Littlefoot was still getting accustomed to.

"Training you has been nothing but a pleasure," Doc admitted.

Littlefoot's eyes lit up as his chest puffed in affirmation.

"Wanna know why I could never get the better of Sharptooth?" asked Doc.

Littlefoot thought for a moment, attempting to figure it out. When he drew a blank, he nodded.

"He had a head start," Doc explained. "Thing is, I didn't learn the rock bathing secret 'til I was half grown. Start from your age and you'll be a force of nature."

Littlefoot immediately threw himself against the cliff and began to rub as though his skin were crawling with tiny biters. After a few seconds, he came to grips with his mistake.

"Oww ..." Littlefoot moaned as he eased off the stone.

"Try to be a bit more careful about it," Doc instructed. "Start by rubbing hard enough to feel the burn without bruising."

* * *

Day 12

* * *

Pride.

That's what Doc felt as he lay under the morning Sun, watching Littlefoot practicing his teachings on a rock roughly the size of the kid. Such a fast learner. Was this what it felt like to have a son? Maybe he would one day find out. Maybe not. He could neither count on the remarkable longevity of his species' egg-bearing capabilities nor write it off. However, he couldn't complain. Imparting his knowledge to Littlefoot was one of the crowning joys of his life.

"That's it, Littlefoot," he coached. "Quick strikes. Keep him off-balanced."

Littlefoot paused the imaginary battle, panting. "I feel like ... my tail's too short for this."

"It'll grow," Doc assured. "You got distracted. Now he's on your back."

The young longneck dropped in an aggressive roll.

"That did it," stated Doc. "He's down. Now finish him."

Littlefoot placed his foot atop the imaginary sharptooth and growled into its face before snapping his jaws.

Doc blinked. "Littlefoot ... what are you doing?"

"It's sharptooth talk," explained the youngster. "Chomper said it means 'go away and don't bother us again'."

"What's to say the sharptooth'll go away?" asked Doc.

Littlefoot thought for a moment. "Well ... what else am I supposed to do?"

Doc sighed. If not genuinely clueless, his student was simply refusing to consider the obvious.

"Make sure it can't bother anyone again," Doc clarified.

Littlefoot winced.

Doc raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that what you did to the first sharptooth you encountered?"

"Well, yeah, but that was before I met Chomper," argued Littlefoot. "Can't I just chase him away? Or maybe knock him out? Or-?"

**"Or grow a _backbone,_ Littlefoot!"** came the voice of a grouchy female.

Littlefoot spun around. **"Cera?! I-!"**

**_"You_ were gonna keep coming here, doing _whatever it is_ you do with Doc without telling me for the foreseeable future!"** snapped the amber threehorn as she stomped towards him. "Say, what exactly are you doing? Didn't peg Doc for the type to play with imaginary sharpteeth."

Littlefoot hesitated. "I ... um ... Doc's teaching me how to fight."

Cera's eyes popped. "Say what now?"

"I said-"

"I heard you the first time!" she barked. "Since when did _**you **_have any serious interest in fighting?" suddenly, Cera began to smile. "Y'know what? I _like_ this Littlefoot!"

Littlefoot tilted his head. "What did you think of me before?"

"You were ... eh, you were alright," she replied. "More tolerable than most. Anyway, move over. I refuse to let some longneck know more about fighting than I do."

"'Some longneck' already does," Littlefoot stated, gesturing Doc with his head.

"He's old. He doesn't count," Cera dismissed.

Doc grunted in mild annoyance.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" asked Cera.

"I'm not training you," Doc stated simply.

**"What?!"** Cera shrieked. "Listen, **_Gramps!_** You can't _**not**_ train me! I've turned aggression into an**_ art form!"_**

"That's precisely it," Doc agreed. "When you've been around long as I have, you start to see patterns – things that start out one way and end up another, like the way you and Littlefoot relate to one and other as kids."

"What's_ **that **_supposed to mean?" spat the triceratops, tapping a foot in irritation.

Doc sighed. "Hopin' I'm wrong. In any event, you're too volatile."

"So you're saying Littlefoot's gonna be the next 'Lone Dinosaur' and I'm stuck being ... _me?"_ argued Cera.

"You could be a legend, just not a good one," Doc declared.

Cera scrunched her eyebrows, attempting to think her way around Doc's stubbornness. "Is this about the 'old dinosaur' comments? Don't take it personally, it's just how I am, especially now. Dad says I'm having 'adolescence' early, or something like that. If you think I was rude to you, you should hear what I told my dad just yesterday! As punishment, he sat on top of me until The Bright Circle was halfway across the sky. Tria was so upset herself that she didn't even bother to calm him down."

"So _that's _why you're nowhere to be found when he says you're being 'babysat'!" Littlefoot piped in. "You're literally _right there,_ underneath his-"

**"Can we not talk about that?!" **Cera snapped.

Doc lowered his head beside Littlefoot. "Hop on, kid."

"Where are we going?" asked the youngster, climbing onto the grownup's head.

"Away," Doc answered without answering.

"Then **_I'm_** coming _**with **_you!" Cera insisted.

The Lone Dinosaur chuckled. "No choice, Missy."

With a sweep of his tail, he tore the dust from the canyon floor, enveloping Cera in a smokescreen.

As much as Littlefoot hated seeing Doc's unique way of rebuffing Cera, he stared in fascination. He'd never seen a tail manipulate wind like that. The gears were turning in his head.

Racked in a fit of coughing, Cera's lungs finally caught a break when the dust cleared. She looked around and not a soul was to be seen.

**"I was trying to be _NICE,_ you ungrateful BUMP HEAD!"** Cera shouted after them.

* * *

Day 12

Mid Morning

* * *

Having found a quiet place at the centre of a clearing, Doc sat and closed his eyes in a meditative state.

"Um … what are we doing?" asked Littlefoot.

Doc cracked an eyelid and smirked. "We're imagining. kid."

His smirk grew at the sight of Littlefoot's perplexed expression. A grownup?_ Imagining? _It was like stepping into a weird sleep story.

"I'm imagining situations I could find myself in," Doc explained. "For example, different techniques a sharptooth could use against me. Sometimes, they hunt in packs. They actually plan their combined attacks. That's why I try to plan ahead, imagining solutions to things they might do. When I've thought of a solution that seems to make sense, I practice it. Sometimes, it becomes a new technique."

"Ohhh … wow," Littlefoot commented. "You've probably thought of everything by now."

Doc chuckled. "Not everything. Amazes me how creative a kid can be. I'm sure you'll be imagining things I never considered."

Littlefoot plopped himself against the short grass, straining his brain to live up to that expectation.

"Don't stress about it," Doc encouraged. "Just relax. It's okay to let your mind wander sometimes."

Littlefoot nodded, although he found it hard not to pressure himself to impress his mentor. In time, he began to relax; feel the breeze; hear it whisper in the trees. It really was pleasant out there. As much as he loved his friends, he understood how Doc could find peace in silent solitude.

He twitched as something brushed against his face. Littlefoot opened his eyes and saw the culprit – a flock of leaves swirling in the wind. He'd seen such a thing before, but it always fascinated him. Why would wind decide to move in circles instead of the winding path it usually took? Sometimes, those circles were huge. Vicious. Deadly. He'd seen a few twisters ravaging the landscape – a testament of the unpredictable possibilities of the world he lived in.

Littlefoot's eyes slowly widened as they took on the glint of an epiphany. Doc glanced at the youngster, noticing the change in body language. He smiled. The kid was onto something.

"Let's hear it, Littlefoot," Doc encouraged.

The young longneck shrank in self-consciousness. "It's kind of silly. Probably impossible."

"Won't know until we try it," Doc coaxed.

Littlefoot sheepishly smiled up at him. "Well … remember when we lost Cera in the canyon?"

* * *

**What is Littlefoot up to? Find out in ... well, not the next chapter that's for sure, but we'll get there. In the meantime, enjoy the journey.**

**Next: What happens when Cera decides she can't take 'no' for an answer? Find out in the following chapter, redundantly named 'Can't Take No For An Answer'. Don'tcha just love when writers put it all on the table? :D.**

**Did anyone pick up 'The Lost World: Jurassic Park' reference?**

**Thanks for reading! Review and have a good ... whatever time of day or night it is ... wherever you live.**


	2. Chapter 2: Can't Take 'No' for an Answer

**Please note: In this story's continuity, the dinosaurs judge time using 'heartbeats' (the equivalent of seconds); 'breaths' (five heartbeats); 'sleeping breaths' (ten heartbeats); 'holding breaths' (thirty heartbeats) and 'naps' (one hour). Yes, it's uncannily akin to human time measurement, but there's a reason for that ;). Of course, dinosaurs of different ages and species have different heart rates, breathing patterns and napping tendencies, so they semi-universally accept specific values and stick with it. Adults such as Mr. Thicknose teach the children to measure heartbeats and breaths with surprising accuracy, although their measurements are never quite perfect and will begin to go off over time. The position of the Sun helps them gauge naps. Curiously, 'seconds', 'minutes' and some other familiar time quantities are still a part of their vocabulary, though they use them in a very loose sense. For example: "I'll be there in a minute!" means "I'll be there in a while!". The cause for that will be explained later, though they prefer their own analog system for more precise measurements. They will also use their analog system loosely, but I'm rambling so I'll shut up now :).**

* * *

Chapter 2

Can't Take 'No' for an Answer

_Day 12_

_Night_

Littlefoot made his way across a meadow, allowing himself a moment to marvel at the stars peppering the black blanket of firmament. How he wished to go up there, Beyond the Mysterious Beyond, never imagining that the Beyond was coming, and once it came he would give a leg and a tail if it meant placating fate. The longneck's thoughts returned to Earth as a firefly landed on his nose, causing him to go cross-eyed as he admired its radiance. How in the world did it light up like that? Even Mr. Thicknose had never satisfied his curiosity. Apparently deciding that he had been sufficiently dazzled, the firefly took off, joining a host of others that spangled the meadow. He chuckled. Who said all the stars were in the sky? There were plenty of mysteries to be found even in The Great Valley. Still, if only ...

The young longneck's attention was drawn to paws pattering through the grass. Actually, it was more of a 'stomp' than a 'patter'. He didn't even have to look before identifying the stomper.

"Oh, hey Cera," Littlefoot greeted. "I hope you're not still mad about Doc."

"Me?" she chirped with unusual amicability. "No, not at all. I mean, we're friends, aren't we? Friends forgive each other. Friends make each other happy. Friends don't keep good stuff from other friends just 'cause they're stingy flat heads."

Littlefoot sighed before giving a gentle argument. "Look, Cera, Doc's made up his mind. If we're friends, then you'll find a way to be okay with that."

"Ooor ... you can teach me what Doc teaches you," Cera suggested in a chipper manner.

Littlefoot drew back. "Cera-"

"Come **on!"** she insisted. "You need a partner!"

"A ... partner?" asked Littlefoot.

"I mean, look at Doc," Cera argued. "You think he'd have that scar down his face if there were someone to watch his back?"

Littlefoot opened his mouth to respond.

"Someone **besides **Dara," Cera added.

The longneck closed his mouth.

"Now, here's the other option," she continued: "You ignore me; I follow you to all your training sessions, hoping to learn a thing or two; Doc gets mad; after a week, he decides you're not worth the trouble; he stops teaching you and then we're both unhappy. Is that what you want, Littlefoot? For us both to be unhappy?"

She ended her ultimatum with a great, big smile of gratingly insincere sweetness.

Littlefoot narrowed his eyes at her before turning and leaving. "Good. Night. Cera."

"So, I'll see you after tomorrow's lesson with Doc, am I right?" she called after him. "Wanna make sure the training's fresh in your memory!"

Littlefoot gave a long, exasperated groan. "Sure, fine, whatever!"

**"That better not be sarcasm!"** she warned, projecting her voice to reach him as he grew farther.

**"When have you ever known me to be sarcastic?**" Littlefoot projected back, perhaps a tad too loudly.

That concluded their conversation, and soon Littlefoot had disappeared into the forest.

Cera smiled to herself, quite pleased with her negotiation skills. However, Littlefoot's grumpiness somewhat bothered her. It was uncharacteristic, but understandable considering the way she pushed him. She decided to make it a point to be on her best behaviour when he passed on Doc's training. Maybe she would try to show a little more consideration for his thoughts and ... ugh ... feelings.

"And here 'Ol Bump Head said I wouldn't relate to him," Cera said to herself in self-righteous smug.

* * *

_Day 25_

* * *

**"Hey!** Not so hard, Cera!" Littlefoot warned, diving clear of the threehorn's charge.

So much for 'best behaviour'.

She skidded to a stop, snorting as she readied another attack. "Didn't Doc teach you to 'stone bathe'?"

_"'Rock'_ bathing takes, a long time to show results!" Littlefoot argued. "Besides, you break rocks on a regular basis!"

Cera raised her chin in pride. "Be that as it may, we're not gonna learn anything hitting like a pair of hatchlings."

"Doc says you have to _learn _the technique before going all-out," Littlefoot countered. "Even so, you don't 'go all out' on your friend!"

Cera huffed. "Says the longneck. We _threehorns _have our own way of doing things."

"If you don't wanna learn how to do it right, suit yourself. Go the wrong way."

Cera perked up upon recognising that last statement. _"Ohh, _I get it! You're _afraid_ I'll hurt you after our big fight on our way to The Great Valley!"

Littlefoot stiffened slightly before glaring at her. That thought hadn't crossed his mind, but the memory was enough to make him switch gears.

"I'm not afraid of you," Littlefoot declared. "Never was."

She snorted. "Then _prove _it."

Littlefoot wordlessly accepted her challenge, lowering himself in a battle stance.

Cera grinned: finally, some _real _action!

She charged. He responded in kind. What? Was he gonna ram her with that flat skull of his? What a joke! To think she believed that _Littlefoot _of all dinosaurs had a shot at outfighting her. Maybe threehorns were just better warriors than longnecks, full stop. Maybe there was nothing useful he could teach her! Even so, this would be fu-

...

_Literally 2 Seconds Later ..._

_..._

Cera found herself lying on her back, blinking at the blue sky. It all happened so fast, yet she wasn't quite sure what 'it all' entailed. Her mind took a moment to piece together what led her to that position ... before rejecting it in the mental equivalent of throwing up.

Littlefoot broke the blue backdrop as he stood over her, smirking.

She frowned. "You're lucky I tripped on a tree foot!"

He made a show of looking around for a root. "Tree foot? Let's see ... Ah! _There_ it is! The closest foot: about twenty steps away!"

"Yeah? Well ... well a rock then!" she argued.

He simply continued to stare at her. His smug little face was really getting on her nerves.

"Oh, **_come on!"_** Cera blurted as she rolled onto her feet. "You expect me to believe you baited me with a false charge, then dodged at the _very_ last heartbeat, bumped me with your hip and swept your tail under my feet _at the same time?"_

"Uhhh ... yep," Littlefoot answered simply.

"There is _no _way you're that smart or coordinated!" Cera shot back.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Littlefoot stated, before something caught his attention and he silently stared at the ground.

Cera followed his gaze. "It's called grass, Littlefoot. We're supposed to walk on it, or eat it ... but it's not going anywhere, so you can keep staring if you want."

"Don't you feel that?" asked the longneck.

Cera paused. "A tiny earthshake, maybe?"

"You know how adults in a herd can keep track of each other by feeling their footsteps?" Littlefoot asked. "Some longnecks take that a step farther. It's called 'Earth Whispering'. They use it to send messages through the ground by stomping. Doc's been teaching me what the different stomp patterns mean. Gotta go, bye!"

He turned tail and dashed away.

**"Hey!"** protested Cera, running after him. "We're not done here!"

"Doc's telling me I'm supposed to meet him in a quarter nap!" answered the longneck.

"As _if!_ You've already had your training for the day! You're just making excuses! **Get ****_back _****here!"**

After sprinting for a minute or so, Cera was forced to a panting stop. Littlefoot kept going with no indication that he planned on resting soon. This was unacceptable! 25 days training and already his stamina made her feel like an old thicknose! No. This had to stop.

...

_Fifteen minutes later ..._

_..._

"If you can figure out how to win without fighting, it's best you go for it," Doc stated.

He waited for Littlefoot to ask 'how', but the youngster was uncannily lethargic.

"Pardon me?" asked Littlefoot. "Oh, how do I do that? I could try talking to them."

The Lone Dinosaur sighed. "I strongly suggest you don't. You can scare off half the sharpteeth you meet with this."

Doc raised his tail and cracked it like a whip, splitting the air with a thunderclap that made the Earth shudder. He had Littlefoot's full attention now. The youngster had heard him snap his tail before, but not like this. Littlefoot could still feel the shock wave in his bones!

"We can't roar like sharpteeth, but we can make thunder with our tails," Doc went on. "A longneck's power can be judged by his thunder. If your thunder's strong, a sharptooth might think twice about fighting you. Weak thunder will encourage them to attack. You're too young to make thunder, but if you practise now it'll make a big difference. It travels far, so be careful about it. Can you guess why?"

The young longneck thought for a moment. "Because ... all the sharpteeth near enough to hear it will now you're there. They'll also know you're a strong fighter, so they might come in numbers to overpower you."

Doc couldn't help the proud grin that parted his lips. "Exactly."

The kid smiled, pleased with his deduction. He was attentive, but the exhaustion was still in his eyes.

"Littlefoot, you look drained," Doc noted.

"Yeah," admitted Littlefoot. "I ran some of the way."

Doc shook his head. "Not 'tired', _'drained'._ You've been drained for the past week or so."

Uh oh.

"Well, my friends and I have been playing pretty hard," Littlefoot explained, telling himself that 'training' and 'playing' were practically the same thing.

Doc lowered his head closer to Littlefoot, studying his scales. "And those bruises: 'playing', huh?"

"Uhh ..."

Doc's eyes flicked to something behind Littlefoot, drawing from years of experience spotting sharpteeth among the greenery. "Come out, Cera."

Littlefoot spun around. 'Cera?'

_Where?_

After a few seconds, the unseen threehorn answered: "Why? It's a free valley. I kind of like it in here."

"It's looks like green food, but you're hiding under itchy bush," Doc stated. "Then again, you've probably figured that out by now."

A few moments passed as Cera stubbornly refused to leave the bush. Then she burst from the green and rolled across the floor with much angry screaming in an effort to quell the itching.

Littlefoot's reaction was quick. "Uh, **over there!** There's a water hole! It'll help stop the itching!"

Cera made a beeline for the water hole, managing a **"Like, ****_duh!"_** in spite of her panic. The threehorn plunged beneath the surface and Littlefoot dashed to the edge, followed by a somewhat less concerned Doc.

"She's been under for a little while," Littlefoot noted. "Is she okay?"

Doc stared at the water for a moment. "No. She's drownin'."

He quickly dipped his tail in, drawing out a sputtering Cera who seemed to cough out more water than air. Once he'd set her down, Littlefoot raised his tail to thump her back and help remove liquid from her lungs. He stopped himself upon realising how much she would hate that. He looked away, knowing that staring would only compound her humiliation. Doc gave her no such grace, watching the threehorn with unamused nonchalance.

After coughing out her lungs and then some, Cera breathlessly whirled to face Doc. "**What are ****_YOU_**** staring at?"**

He only blinked, refusing to give her the dignity of an answer.

**"Fine! ****_Whatever!"_** she snapped.

Cera turned to light into Littlefoot, only to realise that he wasn't staring. The threehorn calmed down somewhat. _ Seriously?_ Had she been in his place, she might have outright laughed! What was _wrong _with him? Cera's mental tirade came to an abrupt stop when she took a good look at her reasoning. Nothing was 'wrong' with him. They were friends, and he was attempting to preserve dignity.

Cera's expression softened. In her moment of sobriety, she flinched upon noticing the bruises she'd inflicted during their 'training'.

"Hey, you okay?" asked Cera.

Littlefoot traced her gaze to his bruises and gave a small smile. "Mm hm. It only hurts when I breathe."

Cera rolled her eyes. "Again with the sarcasm. That _is _sarcasm, right?"

"You got me," Littlefoot admitted.

"So are you okay or not?" asked a mildly impatient Cera.

"It's not so bad. You can break rocks, but Littlefoot's a different story."

Cera almost gave a good-natured laugh. "Oh, so you think that you can talk about yourself like that just because you _may_ be the next Lone ... Dinosaur ..."

The threehorn trailed off as she noticed Doc studying their interaction in deep thought.

"Okay. Let's begin," he instructed.

"I'm not going anywhere," Cera declared.

Doc nodded. "I know. So, let's see what Littlefoot taught you."

Littlefoot gave Cera a self-conscious glance. She was strangely stoic, but he caught a slight, high-pitched noise escaping her nose. It took him a second to realise that she was repressing an excited squeal.

"How did you know?" asked Littlefoot.

"The scuff marks on her scales," Doc replied. "She's been stone bathing wrong. Too aggressively. Let's hope this doesn't come back to bite us later."

**"Hey!**_ 'This' _is standing right here!" Cera protested.

Much to their surprise, Doc allowed himself a chuckle.

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**

**Next, Doc's training is great for strength, speed and reflexes, regardless of species, but there's one problem: it was especially designed for longnecks. Despite her best efforts, Cera keeps falling behind Littlefoot. In a valley full of peaceful leafeaters, there's no one else to teach her the art of threehorn combat ... or**_ is_** there? Find out in 'Cera's Teacher'.**


	3. Chapter 3: Cera's Teacher

Chapter 3

Cera's Teacher

* * *

_Day 55_

_Evening_

* * *

Mr. Thicknose raised his head from a pond to see Cera storming towards it.

"Good evening, Cera," he smiled.

She seemed completely oblivious of his presence as she grumbled to herself. "Stupid longneck training, stupidly made to work best for longnecks 'cause it's _stupid!"_

Cera dunked her beak beneath the surface, drinking with a vengeance. Mr. Thicknose raised an eyebrow. That was the first time he'd seen a dinosaur chew water. Having satisfied her thirst, she tore her face from the pond. Mr. Thicknose closed his eyes as she gave the water a good stomp, inadvertently sending a big splash into his face. She marched away from the waterside, vigourously exercising her horn thrusts on thin air.

Mr. Thicknose turned to see what she doing. "Practising with your horns, I see?"

Cera paused, eyeing the old dinosaur as if noticing him for the first time. Then she rolled her eyes.

"If you can _'see'_ it, then why are you _asking?"_ Cera sassed.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," the elder remarked.

That familiar statement gave Cera pause. It seemed everything she said fell under the 'better ignored' category.

"So who, or _what,_ is your imaginary victim?"

"Littlefoot," she grunted.

Mr. Thicknose froze. "I was under the impression that you two had a, uh ... _relatively _healthy friendship."

"Well ... yeah," Cera agreed, catching herself. "We do, but Doc's teaching us how to fight but I can't keep up 'cause he's teaching like a longneck, and I'm _not_ a longneck! Their tails are different and they don't have horns, which means I gotta work _extra_ hard to get _**nowhere!**_ _**I'm**_ the **'tough girl',** but_** every **_time we spar **Littlefoot gets the ****_better_**** of me!"** She sighed away some of the tension as she glared at the ground. "It's not like I wanna _crush_ him or anything. It's just no fun when I don't even have a chance."

"Hm," grunted the thicknose. "I knew you two were up to something. Fascinating. Perhaps I can be of assistance."

Cera looked him up and down. "How are _you_ gonna make _me _anything remotely closer to a better fighter? No offence, but you're basically a threehorn minus the 'three horns', the attitude and, well, pretty much everything that makes a threehorn worth being _anything."_

Apparently putting 'no offence' in front of her statement didn't guarantee a lack of offence, seeing as Mr. Thicknose was giving her the same stare Doc and half the grownups did on a regular basis. Her frequent mental retort of 'What do _they_ know?' was starting to evolve into 'Maybe they're onto something'.

Cera kicked a pebble, kicking herself on the inside. "Forget I said that."

He seemed genuinely surprised. "Is that an apology?"

Did she have to spell it out for him? Cera groaned, wrestling her pride.

"Yeah, I guess so."

Mr. Thicknose smiled. "It would seem someone's growing up! How about a little background before we begin?"

Cera withheld an impatient sigh. He was doing that thing grownups did when they asked a question after making up their minds to go ahead regardless of the answer. This had better not be long or/and boring. Ohh, who was she kidding?

"When I was little, a group of threehorn far walkers passed through the valley," Mr. Thicknose explained. "They bore the markings of warriors who had barely scraped through a recent battle. Those wounds ... I'd never seen anything like it: not from sharpteeth, or leafeaters."

Cera's interest was piqued. This actually sounded _interesting! _ Well, there was a first time for everything.

"Did they ever say who they were fighting?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Regrettably, I was too shy to ask. However, shyness wasn't enough to keep me from watching them. Their fighting style was _incredible!_ It was more than just running head first into opponents. They could swing their horns like a fast biter's claws, parrying blows, splitting boulders. I didn't know a threehorn could move the way they did! On evenings, I would watch their shadows as they practised, and try to make my shadow do the same things to be sure I was getting it right. Of course, it wasn't much use to me. I'm not a threehorn, but I could imagine. In time their wounds healed. They marched out to face the unknown and never returned."

"Well? What're we waiting for?" Cera blurted, nearly breaking her 'tough girl' M.O. in her excitement.

The thicknose chuckled. "Come with me."

Cera eagerly trotted up to him as he took a few steps that ended with them standing over the pond.

"That was the shortest _'come with me' _I've had in my life," Cera commented.

Again, Mr. Thicknose chuckled like a kid pulling a B grade prank. "Pardon my sense of humour."

Cera couldn't stop the 'What sense of humour?' from popping into her head, but at least she kept her mouth closed.

"Okay, so we're staring at our reflections in the water," Cera stated. "Am I missing something?"

Mr. Thicknose swung his head to the side as if wielding horns. "Try to mimic my reflection."

Cera mouthed an _'ohh'_ of realisation before attempting to copy him.

"Keep your horns perpendicular to the imaginary target, like so," Mr. Thicknose instructed.

She gave it another go.

He smiled. "Better."

Mr. Thicknose proceeded to carry her through a few more basic swings, jabs and parries until the departing sunlight brought the session to a close.

* * *

_Day 81_

* * *

"How do you say 'let's be friends' in sharptooth?" asked Littlefoot.

Chomper's answer came in friendly croon.

Littlefoot blinked. "That's it?"

The young sharptooth thought for a moment, trying to find the best way to explain. "You know how 'huh?' means 'what?' in leafeater, or how 'mm hm' means 'yes'? The sharptooth language has lots of little sounds that aren't actual words, but they mean stuff. For example, if you want someone to know you don't like something, you can just growl. It sometimes helps if you point or at least look at the thing to make it clear what you don't like."

"Interesting ..." Littlefoot commented. "So, how do you say 'we don't have to fight'?"

"That's easy!" Chomper replied, before crooning again. "The same sound would work. It's a friendly noise, but if you want a sharptooth to take you even _more_ seriously, you can show them how much you know your stuff." He released a combination of croons, purrs and soft growls that sounded anything but 'easy'. "You can say anything with a growl, a whine or any other noise, as long as you have the pattern right. However, the sound you use lets other sharpteeth know if you're friendly, unfriendly or something else. Using certain sounds for certain parts of what you say adds more emotional meaning and, um ... texture. That's the best way I can put it."

Littlefoot nodded. "Okay, here it goes." He attempted to repeat the complex sound.

Chomper gave him a blank stare before fiddling with his tiny claws. "Um ... you see ... if you say that to any sharptooth of any kind or age, girl or boy, so long as they can speak they will tell their friends, family and acquaintances, who will also tell _their_ friends, family and acquaintances. Then they will all form a pack and hunt you down along with anyone they think is your friend ... or family ... or acquaintance. You can go into hiding, but they'll keep hunting you 'till the day they die."

The longneck's jaw dropped. "Chomper, **_what_** did I**_ say?"_**

The small sharptooth shook his head with eyes squeezed shut. "Probably best you don't know, but I'm gonna have a hard time _un_-hearing it."

"Sorry," Littlefoot apologised. "You know what? I'm still gonna ask you to teach me everything you can, but maybe we should work together when we're dealing with bad sharpteeth. You can do most of the talking. I prefer not to fight, but chances are we'll have to. You might wanna think about training with Cera and me."

Chomper's face lit up. **"You _really_ think Doc'll let me?** Aw, that'd be _**awesome!**_ I **_really _**wanna, except Doc gave me nightmares so I'll need a few days to work up the courage."

"That's great. Hold on ... Doc gave you _**what?"**_

Littlefoot caught a flash of motion by the side of his eye.

In a blink, his tail had swatted an incoming coniferous seed out of the air. Chomper's eyes went wide at his razor sharp reflexes.

"For a second there I thought you forgot we were playing 'Stop the Seed'," Cera commented with a smile.

Littlefoot snatched up the seed with his tail, tossing it into the air before casually catching it in his mouth. With the exception of Cera, the others exchanged glances. For a four-legged dinosaur, such dexterity was no small feat.

"Sorry, guys," Littlefoot replied, pitching the seed between the two teams. "Got a little distracted."

"Don't worry about it," Cera shrugged.

Chomper and Ruby looked at each other. They expected a sardonic remark. At least a 'hmph!' or an eye-roll. A 'don't worry about it' without a hint of annoyance wasn't part of Cera's repertoire of responses. It would have been less conspicuous if it hadn't been a growing trend lately.

"Are you feeling okay?" asked Ruby, stepping up to Cera and reaching out to test her temperature. "'Cause when you feel okay you're a bit ... _different _from this."

"I'm **_fine!" _**Cera snapped, wincing before tempering her voice. "I, um ..." she seemed to squeeze the next word through her teeth, _"appreciate_ your concern, but I'm okay."

"You haven't been coming to training," Littlefoot added. "That's not like you."

"Who says I haven't been coming to training?" countered the threehorn, raising her head in cryptic pride. _"I_ remember _everything_ Doc taught me about skin, bone and muscle strengthening. I just wanted to get a little space so I could sort something out."

Littlefoot slowly nodded as he examined her. Based on the mild bruises and developing muscles, he already knew that she was still training, but he seldom caught her doing it. Why the secrecy?

"Oh, and Ruby? Do me a favour and stop holding back," Cera requested.

The pink fast runner knit her brow in question.

Cera finally gave that eye-roll. "You're a fast runner, Ruby. It's, uh ... _nice,_ I guess, that you slow down so the other team can keep up, but I want to show you guys a little something, so I expect you to try your best."

"If that's okay with you, it's okay with me," Ruby agreed, looking past Cera. "But ..."

The threehorn followed Ruby's gaze to see Ducky and Spike guarding their team's goal, marked by two rocks on either side. Ducky perked up, noticing the two staring at her brother and her.

She patted the spiketail on whom she sat. "Spike, I think it is time to play!"

His only response was a loud snore. He had slipped into a nap a few minutes prior, and it didn't look like that was going to change anytime soon.

_"Spike!"_ Ducky whined. "We need to guard the goal, we _do,_ we _do!"_

Cera smiled up at Ruby. "You won't say it, so I will. You have us outnumbered, and my team is at a _slight_ disadvantage."

Ducky might have been mildly disheartened if she could hear Cera over Spike's snoring.

"Like I said, I've got few things to show you, so _**bring **_it," Cera coaxed.

"If you say so," Littlefoot conceded. "You ready, team?"

Chomper, Ruby and Petrie voiced their agreement.

"Okay, then," Littlefoot nodded. **"Splash!"**

"Wait ... wha?" asked Cera.

Team Littlefoot split up while the longneck alone charged for the seed.

"Remember when I suggested we plan our movements as a team?" asked Littlefoot.

Cera exploded towards the seed. "Remember how I _ignored _you?"

Ever since his training yielded notable results, Littlefoot had grown accustomed to outrunning Cera. This time, she shattered his expectations. She was fast. Strangely enough, she was quicker than he was, but there was one player who was faster.

The longneck lowered his head and Ruby sprang over him, just as they practised.

The fast runner quickly kicked the seed past Cera and proceeded to leap over the threehorn. "Be careful what you wish fo- **W-****_whAAAah!_** **Oof!"**

Cera had reared as high as her legs would carry her, bumping Ruby's foot with her head and sabotaging the fast runner's jump. Brutish? Yes, but over time Stop the Seed had more or less developed the rowdiness of American football.

The runner landed on her belly, but the seed was already hurtling towards the goal.

**"Ducky, Spike! Look alive!"** Cera commanded.

Ducky yelped and abandoned ship as Spike jumped awake with a grunt, looking to and fro before the seed landed in his mouth.

"Nice save! ... I think," Cera commended. "Now pass it over!"

Spike blinked down at the seed in his mouth.

"Oh boy," Cera huffed in annoyance.

If anyone knew anything about Spike, it was that when something even _remotely_ edible landed in his mouth, chances were no one was getting it back. This particular seed species qualified.

Ducky pried the seed from her brother's jaws before kicking it towards Cera with all her might. Of course, being mere several inches tall, 'all her might' didn't take it very far, but Cera darted in, bouncing the seed on her nose once and headbutted it under the legs of an incoming Ruby. Startled by the speed of the seed, the fast runner stumbled and ultimately tumbled to the ground once more.

Petrie swooped and blocked the seed with his body, even if it knocked the wind out of him.

Forgetting his place as goalkeeper, eager Chomper rushed to kick it. **"I got it! I got it!"**

He caught sight Cera rampaging his way.

**"AAAUGH! NEVERMIND! I ****_don't_**** got it! I ****_NEVER got _****it! I WASN'T EVEN ****_THINKING _****OF 'GOTTING' IT!"**

In spite of his claim, Chomper kicked the seed away more out of self-defence than anything else.

The threehorn headbutted it back, only for Littlefoot to send it hurtling forward with his tail. They bolted for it before it even came to rest. Cera flashed a grin, making as if to dart left. He moved to block her. He was expecting a more direct approach. Ah, there it was. When they reached the seed at the same instant, Cera leaned over it in a headbutt intended to shove Littlefoot out of the way. What Littlefoot did surprised even him as he found his forehead colliding with hers on instinct.

Cera only laughed as she pressed into his throbbing skull. "Still pretending to be a threehorn, huh?"

She jerked her head upwards, tipping Littlefoot's front end into the air. Thinking quickly, he braced his fore paws on her crest, attempting to keep her at bay.

Cera blinked before shoving harder, past the seed. The longneck's feet skinned grass from soil as he was forced backwards. Then he stopped, paws firmly rooted.

"So ... that's your surprise?" grunted the longneck. "You've been training in secret so I wouldn't realise how good you got until you were better than me?"

"Yup," Cera confirmed, before giving a sharp shove to no avail.

"So, who's been training you?" asked Littlefoot.

Cera snorted. "What makes you think I didn't train myself?"

"You were having a hard time adjusting to longneck routines." He stopped to think. "Soo ... did _Mr. Thicknose _teach you to watch your back?"

She hiccuped. **"How did-? Watch my-? NO!"**

Glancing back, Cera saw Ruby kicking the seed into her goal, right past Spike who'd made an admirable attempt to dive for it.

Cera's muscles seemed to deflate as she allowed Littlefoot to bring his fore paws to the ground.

"Con-" she choked. "Cong ... grrrr ... _gratulations,_ guys. You weren't supposed to win this one, but you surprised me, especially Petrie."

The flyer blinked in confusion. "M ... _me? _ What me do?"

Cera squinted at him as though it were painfully obvious. "You stopped the seed. In the air. With your body. It was moving _really_ fast and you knew it wouldn't be pretty, but you did it anyway."

The flyer stared at her, along with everyone besides a smirking Littlefoot.

Cera's gaze flit across their faces with an upraised eyebrow. "What?"

"Me not remember last time you complemented me," the flyer stated.

"Maybe you don't remember it because there was no 'it' to remember," Ruby suggested.

Cera huffed. _"Yeah?_ Well ..." She mumbled the last part. "Well, I guess you'll have to get used to it ..."

At that point, Littlefoot was grinning, deeply pleased that Cera was maturing into more of a pal and less of a headache. His grin dimmed as he spotted a small flyer in the trees.

It was watching them.

Shortly after Littlefoot stared back, it diverted its bulging, black eyes elsewhere. Shy but inquisitive creatures, he would feel their eyes glue to the back of his head once he looked away again.

Petrie traced Littlefoot's gaze and shuddered. "Flying nibblers: they give me creeps."

"But they're flyers, just like you," Chomper reasoned.

Petrie shook his head vigourously. "Not like me. They got sharp teeth. Tiny sharp teeth, but they little bigger than me, so me have reason to be scared."

"But they only eat creepy crawlers," argued Chomper. "You're not scared of _me_, are you?"

"You friend," Petrie countered. "Me can't make friends with nibblers."

"Perhaps if you talk to them, they'll talk back and turn out pretty friendly," Ruby suggested.

Petrie shook his head once more. "They no talk. They only stare. Me no think they _can _talk. Uncle Pterano say they eat dead things in Mysterious Beyond. Not here though, for some reason."

"Uncle Pterano said a _lot _of things," Cera reminded. "... Although, Mr. Thicknose told me the same thing, and he's pretty reliable these days."

"I think they're cute," Ruby stated. "Besides, if they weren't around to deal with pesky creepy crawlers, we'd have to deal with more pesky creepy crawlers instead."

"But they so **_many!"_ **blurted a flustered Petrie. "There never be so many nibblers little while ago! Why more coming here? And creepy crawlers _**still**_ bite us! Nibblers should do better job!"

As if to prove the point, Littlefoot felt the tiny tickle of a creepy crawler climbing up his leg. He looked to find nothing more than a beetle, and not the biting kind. True to Petrie's complaint, the nibbler ignored it. However, he couldn't blame the creature. It was unable to see the bug at that angle. Littlefoot decided to leave the crawler be as it settled on his side. It wasn't bothering him much, anyway.

Petria painted a scenario. "What if me bump into one while flying some day, it get angry and **_bite _**me? **Me not like them!"**

Cera shook her head with a sigh. Perhaps this was some kind of flyer-on-flyer prejudice.

"It's not like we can just chase them all out of here," Cera argued.

**"Me no care! Me only feel safe when they _GONE!" _**exploded Petrie.

"That's not what the valley is about," Littlefoot reminded. "Unless they cause trouble, they're welcome to stay."

A mild look of betrayal touched Petrie's frustrated face. "You too, Littlefoot? You no think they too creepy?"

Littlefoot hesitated. _"Wellll_ ... okay, I gotta admit they're a _little_ creepy, but it's not like we should judge them for it ... I think ..."

The beetle briefly fluttered, creating the slightest of sounds.

The nibbler snapped to attention. Like a shot, it swooped in.

**"LOOK OUT!" **Petrie screamed.

Littlefoot ducked. As he did so, the nibbler made a tight loop around his body, diving down his side, zipping under his belly before he finished his crouch and flitting back into the tree. He felt the rush of wind, but it never touched him, not even a tap. However, there was one thing it apparently touched that he had failed to notice.

"Huh ... where'd it get _that _scrumptious nugget?" asked Chomper.

Littlefoot looked to see the creature nibbling on a beetle identical to the one on his side. When he spun to examine his flank, his jaw dropped.

_"No. Way,"_ Littlefoot gaped.

"What?" asked Cera.

"That nibbler snatched the creepy crawler off my side, yet it couldn't even _see _it!" Littlefoot gushed. "It musta heard the crawler when it flapped its wings, but that thing barely even made a _sound!"_

"Maybe they have really good hearing," Chomper theorised.

**"You SEE? You _SEE?"_** Petrie ranted. **"That _SCARIEST _thing me ever _see!_ _NOTHING_ fly like that, except in terrifying _SLEEP STORY!"_**

The nibbler twittered as it seemed to glance in their direction, at least from Petrie's perspective.

He pointed a claw quivering in outrage at the nibbler. **"It** **_LAUGHING _at us _TOO!"_**

The others decided to give their winged friend a moment as his little lungs made rapid expansions and contractions, hyperventilating away the agitation. After about half a minute, he calmed down enough to give the nibbler a jealous glower.

"... But me have to admit, me impressed," he stated. "You think Petrie could fly like that?"

"Maybe with training," Cera shrugged, perking up at a thought. "Y'know, it'd be really awesome if we all trained together! Would come in handy if we run into some big, ugly sharptooth ... which we always do."

Chomper gave her a glare and folded his small arms.

"Uh ... no offence?" Cera offered.

"Y'know, just 'cause you say 'no offence' doesn't make what you say any less offensive," Chomper argued.

Cera rolled her eyes upon hearing that past thought put into words. "In that case, I'm sorry. Sharpteeth aren't actually ugly. It was just an insult to the unfriendly ones, so take it or leave it."

Chomper narrowed his eyes at her before shrugging. He supposed a somewhat curt 'I'm sorry' was better than nothing at all.

"But we are not big enough to fight sharpteeth," Ducky countered.

"Unless you plan on staying a kid the rest of your life, we _will_ be," Cera easily parried.

They fell into a brief, thoughtful silence. There was no denying that she had a point, but some of them still had their misgivings.

"Training look hard and painful. Opposite of fun, really," Petrie commented.

"I see where you're coming from, but you know what's _really _fun?" asked Cera. "Being able to run longer and faster than you ever thought you could! Hitting hard enough to make a stupi- uh, a _bad _sharptooth think twice about eating leafeater again! Having scales so thick that you can't even feel their teeth! Chomper! _Chomp_ me!"

He hesitated. "Uhh ..."

"Go ahead. I've got stone scales, I can take it!" she insisted.

The sharptooth paused before gingerly nipping her ankle.

**_"Harder!"_** Cera commanded.

Startled, Chomper latched his jaws around her leg.

Cera smiled proudly. "See? I can't feel a thi- Okay, that actually hurts. Lemme go. **Lemme go!"**

He released her, guiltily fiddling with his claws. "Sorry."

"Eh, it's my fault, I guess," Cera admitted. "So _maybe _my stone scales still have a way to go, but actually this proves my point! What if we needed to survive a bite from an _un_friendly sharptooth?"

Petrie shook his head before examining the fragile skin of his wings. "Make no difference for me. Flyers not too tough. Me no think stone scales help us much."

Cera snorted in annoyance as she ran over to Spike, who was on the verge of eating the seed. Hesitation aside, no one could deny that training made her faster than ever. Just before the spiketail could snap up the seed, he found his snack snatched from under his nose as Cera scooped it with her horn. His face fell in disappointment.

The threehorn made her closing statement. "As much as I'd love for you guys to just say 'yes', I won't push you. Just think about it, okay?"

Ruby tapped a claw to her chin. "Hm ... I'll see what I can learn from Doc and Mr. Thicknose, but there's only so much a fast runner can learn from leafeaters who aren't fast runners. My parents are good at this kind of thing, so my best chance at getting good would be learning more of this kind of thing from my parents. I'll have to visit them more often."

Cera smiled. _"There_ we go!"

Littlefoot glanced at the flying nibbler. Once again, it looked away. He hated how they did that. As much as he'd defended their neutrality, their behaviour niggled at his instincts.

**"Heads up, Littlefoot!"**

The Longneck turned to her. "Huh? **YIKES!"**

He barely managed to duck in time after she'd headbutted the seed at him with alarming speed. In retrospect, he realised that, having won, his team was supposed to serve the seed first. She was merely being so 'polite' as to give it to him. Nonetheless, he had to ask.

**"Cera! ****_WHY?!"_**

"I thought your reflexes were supposed to be faster than that!" she argued.

"They _are! _I was distracted!"

"How is that my fault?" the threehorn shrugged.

Littlefoot wanted to yell at her a little more. Instead, he decided to laugh it off. She was coming along, but she was still Cera. He couldn't expect her to mellow overnight. Even so, he had a feeling she'd always be a bit of a fireball.

Cera raised an eyebrow at his laughter. "Are you okay?"

He nodded.

She nodded back with a somewhat impatient smile. "Good. So what are you waiting for? Get the seed! I wanna _play!"_

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Review and let me know that you think.**

**If you wanna know what the 'flying nibblers' are, just google 'anurognathus'. They will melt your heart, chill your spine or both. They may not be around anymore, but you can find a reasonable modern day substitute by googling the 'great potoo'. A look at those birds will probably have the same effect.**

**Next: The Great Valley is a place of comfort and familiarity ... until Littlefoot discovers a mystery that makes him question the nature of his home. What will he discover? Find out in 'The Cornerstone'.**


	4. Chapter 4: The Cornerstone

Chapter 4

The Cornerstone

* * *

Littlefoot rolled his eyes at Cera's spunk before scampering off to find the seed. It had gone pretty far, and he found himself sliding down the bank of a riverbed to find it. During The Days of Rising Waters, that river often overflowed onto the plains, but at the moment it was parched to the point where cracks broke the crusty soil between the water-smoothed stones. The boulders nearing the valley's wall stood on stalks whittled away by the water ... with the exception of one.

A 'Cornerstone'.

Everyone dubbed these stones as such because a number of them could be found at the corners of the valley. Roughly the same size each, they didn't look notably remarkable, except they never changed.

Ever.

Yes, rocks weren't particularly subject to change, but Littlefoot would have expected the rushing water to at least eat away at the Cornerstone a little. Albeit a fascinating little mystery, it paled in comparison to the more exciting aspects of his life. Besides, the world was full of unexplainables. The world _was_ an unexplainable. Why waste time pondering the eccentricities of an otherwise unremarkable rock?

Now, where was that seed? _Aha! _ Next to the Cornerstone ... under that boulder that Grandma and Grandpa described as a 'disaster waiting to happen'. After countless years of corrosion, its base was nothing but a tiny stalk supporting the weight of at least one and a half full-grown longnecks. It stood there, waiting, _daring_ someone or something to disturb its balancing act and send it crashing to the ground. However, it had withstood earthquakes and Rising Waters after Rising Waters. Why would that day be any different?

Littlefoot darted to the rock before inching beneath it to reach the seed. He may not have thought that one little longneck would be the last straw for the tiptoeing rock, but it wouldn't hurt to be cautious.

"What's the hold up?" Cera called from the river's bank.

Littlefoot raised his head to glance at her, wincing when he bumped it against the rock. He honestly thought he'd be less clumsy after all that training.

He opened his mouth to respond when a cracking sound made his blood run cold. He'd barely even touched it!

Crawling from beneath the rock, he hoped it would fall in the opposite direction. No such fortune. He could see the shadow leaning towards him! Once he had the room, his crawl turned to a sprint.

***THOOM!***

He dropped and covered his head with his paws as he heard chunks of rock raining around him, felt them sending tremors through the ground, but ... he was still alive.

Littlefoot looked around to see that the boulder had shattered. It must have hit something, but what? Just ahead he got his answer among the rubble.

The longneck gaped. Even when he heard the debris being shoved aside as someone made their way towards him, he continued to stare.

**"Littlefoot!"** Cera yelled, having removed the last rock in her path. When he ignored her, she headbutted him in a burst of rage. **"What were you ****_thinking,_**** tipping over that 'disaster waiting to happen'! You're the luckiest longneck alive! ARE YOU EVEN ****_LISTENING_**** TO ME?!"**

The longneck regarded her with distracted eyes before pointing a paw at the Cornerstone. "Do you see that?"

She followed his gaze. "The Cornerstone?"

"It's three times smaller than the boulder that smashed into it, yet it didn't break. Not even a scratch. They look like they're made of the same type of rock, but- **Ow!"**

She'd headbutted him again, nostrils flaring. **"You're worried about ****_that? _****We've been through ****_countless_**** life-threatening situations, and I will NOT have my best friend crushed for being ****_STUPID!"_**

That caught Littlefoot's full attention. "Wait a minute, what was that last part?"

The threehorn raised an eyebrow. "'I will not have one of my best friends crushed for being stupid'."

Littlefoot shook his head. "That's not what you said."

**"Don't_ tell _me what I said!" **Cera snapped before whirling to leave. "C'mon. Now we gotta find another seed, and I have training to do!"

Littlefoot followed her, deciding that it would be easier to pry a tree sweet from Spike's mouth than to bring out Cera's mushy side when she'd decided to disavow its existence. He glanced back at the cornerstone. Maybe he'd have a better chance of getting some answers from that thing.

* * *

_Day 81_

_Night_

* * *

"This is the place," Littlefoot stated.

Doc's tremour-inducing footsteps stopped behind the youngster. "A Cornerstone?"

"Yup."

The older longneck examined the scene, noticing the rubble around the Cornerstone. Knowing of Littlefoot's curious streak, and aware of the infamous boulder that was bound to fall sooner or later, he put two and two together.

"It didn't break," Doc commented.

Littlefoot nodded. _"Exactly, _even though they appeared to be the same kind of rock."

"So you want me to break it? Find out what's inside?" guessed Doc.

Again, the young longneck nodded.

Doc paused. "They say it's bad luck to trouble the Cornerstones."

Littlefoot's face fell. He'd heard about that, and he supposed he should have been more wary after the Saurus Rock adventure, but ...

"But what if that's what we're _supposed_ to think," Littlefoot queried.

Doc stared at him. Maybe, just _maybe, _the youngster was onto something, even if he hadn't a clue what that 'something' was.

"What are you getting at?" asked Doc.

Littlefoot exhaled in thought. "Honestly? I'm not really sure. You know what those Rainbow Faces said before they left the valley? 'Keep asking questions, it sharpens the mind'. Then they ..." he hesitated, pawing at a rock in mild uneasiness. "I'm pretty sure I'm not crazy, but then again no one who's crazy thinks they're crazy."

"You never gave me reason to think you were crazy," Doc assured. "A bit impulsive maybe, but not crazy. Why would you wonder 'bout that?"

"Well ... because the Rainbow Faces disappeared into the _sky!"_ Littlefoot blurted. "This light just- just came down! It lifted them into some kind of star and then the star flew off into the night!"

Doc squinted at him. "You sure it wasn't a dream?"

"Dreams can be confusing, but the confusion wears off shortly after you wake up. That _wasn't _a dream! They spoke like they ... _knew _things: things none of us have ever known! They spoke like they ... _weren't ..._ us."

"Then what do you think they were?"

Littlefoot shook his head in frustration. "I have no idea, and that_ bothers_ me! For all we know, they're the ones who brought The Stone of Cold Fire in the first place."

Brow wrinkled, Doc looked to the rock and back to the kid. "And that has to do with the Cornerstone_ how?"_

"Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't," Littlefoot admitted. "All I know is ... there are things about the world that we don't understand. _Big_ things that we might be better off knowing. The Rainbow Faces are gone and I can't figure out _who _or _what_ they were, but maybe I can figure out what's up with the Cornerstone ... Will you help me?"

Doc grunted before rearing to his hind legs. "Never believed in luck anyway."

He slammed his heel into the Cornerstone. Perfected over the years, he called it the 'Breaker'. No sharptooth had ever survived it, and for good reason. It shattered boulders much bigger than the Cornerstone in one strike. However, the Cornerstone withstood it without so much as a crack. It didn't even budge. Doc repeated the attack again and again. The Earth shook under his blows, but the boulder remained unscathed.

Littlefoot watched closely for any signs of damage, but in doing so he scarcely noticed a creeping change in the atmosphere. Then he felt it: a tingle that washed over his scales and clustered in his toes, his tail, the tip of his nose. He felt lightheaded. A strange taste was on his tongue. Grandma and Grandpa had warned him of the signs that sky fire was about to strike, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky ... yet it was growing stronger.

"Doc,**_ stop!"_** Littlefoot cautioned.

The older longneck immediately desisted. "What?"

"The air is getting spiky," noted the youngster.

Doc furrowed his brow before glancing at the sky.

***Klick!* *snap-ap!* *klickedy-klack!* *klackle!***

Littlefoot nearly jumped out of his scales as those foreign sounds met his ears. His gaze flashed to the Cornerstone. The breath froze in his lungs. It had ... **_opened up!_** Like a flower ... except it wasn't pretty. With incredibly complex innards that glinted in the moonlight, it didn't even _look_ like a rock anymore! The spiky air crescendoed. It felt almost felt like sharptooth claws attempting to tear him apart!

Jagged bolts much like sky fire leapt across the Cornerstone's gleaming anatomy.

Doc had defensively wrapped his tail around the youngster.

Then it happened.

Even Littlefoot could feel it through Doc's tail. It made no sound, yet he felt it rippling across his nerves like a legion of creepy crawlers. Only for a second. Then he heard another string of clicks and snaps and it was over.

Doc gently unfurled his tail.

Littlefoot scarcely took a breath before he gushed: **"What ****_HAPPENED?_**** Are you ****_OKAY?"_**

The grownup didn't even look at him, his blank stare fixed on no particular thing.

_"Doc ...?"_

The old longneck began to walk away.

**"Doc!" **Littlefoot cried out. **_"Say _****something!"**

Littlefoot rammed the adult's ankle with all his might.

Doc blinked before looking down at him. "Littlefoot? What're you doing up at this hour?"

Littlefoot was shaking. "I- I- I," he gulped, attempting to calm himself. "I- you- **the ****_Cornerstone!"_**

Doc looked concerned. "What about it?"

Littlefoot's eyes darted to the stone. It looked perfectly normal ... but it wasn't. Whatever this was, it had conquered The Lone Dinosaur in one stroke. Who knew what would happen if they pushed their luck?

"C'mon, kid. Talk to me," Doc pressed.

"Ne- nevermind."

Doc turned his attention to the Cornerstone. He stepped towards it with a thoughtful hum. Littlefoot immediately rushed into his path.

**"No! Stay away from it! ****_Please!"_**

Doc reluctantly allowed himself to be herded from the stone. "Fine, but you gotta tell me what's goin' on."

**"Nothing!"**

"'Nothing's got you shiverin' like The Cold Time," Doc observed.

"I- I'm just cold," Littlefoot lied.

The old longneck gave him one of those stares that were not to be denied.

Littlefoot gave another gulp. "Um ... what's the last thing you remember?"

"The night was pleasant. I decided to take a walk."

Littlefoot couldn't believe what he was hearing. "That- that's not what happened!"

_"Okay_ ... Enlighten me."

"I ... brought you here," Littlefoot struggled to explain. "I asked you to break the Cornerstone to see what's inside. I wanted to know why it's so tough. Then it ... _**opened up**_ and **_did_** something to you! Now you don't remember ..."

Doc stared at the stone with an intensity usually reserved for a sharptooth. Then he raised his foot and looked at the heel long and hard. He could still feel the soreness from his attempts to break the boulder. So, the youngster was telling the truth.

Littlefoot thought Doc would outright attack the Cornerstone, but instead the old longneck started to depart.

"Some things y' just can't fight," Doc explained. "You pick your battles and live to fight another day. Far as we know, the Cornerstones have never caused trouble until someone bothered 'em."

"'Far as we know'," Littlefoot couldn't help but repeat.

Doc gave a dry huff. "Kind of the point. Can't fight what you don't understand. This?" He gestured the stone with his tail. "This is beyond us."

Littlefoot gave a slow nod as he followed the adult.

"Probably best you stay away from those Cornerstones," Doc suggested.

To that, Littlefoot gave a much more fervent nod. He didn't intend to go _anywhere_ near one of those things if his life depended on it.

* * *

**Any theories as to what the Cornerstone is? If so, do share in the reviews.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5: Think Like a Sharptooth

**As I've mentioned, the scale difference between dinosaurs in this story's continuity is closer to real life (though not necessarily perfectly accurate). While a fully grown Littlefoot would be much larger than most sharpteeth, there are special some who grow exceptionally large in this story, like Red Claw and The Sharptooth from the original movie. We'll get to the 'why' later in this chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 5

Think Like a Sharptooth

* * *

_Year 4_

_Day 32_

* * *

"Okay, Chomper. You can let go now," Cera declared.

The young sharptooth's mind was somewhere else, barely grasping her statement.

"Huh?" he asked through his teeth.

"You win. **Let. Go."** she commanded.

Chomper loosed his jaw from her horn. **"Oh!** I'm sorry!"

Cera stood up straight and shook her horns, more to fling off the indignity than anything else. She felt like a pretzel ... not that she knew what a pretzel was. Chomper was an easy sparring partner when he was half her size, but now? After hitting a growth spurt, he had the strength to bend her into all sorts of awkward positions from which there was no escape. When he got a good grip, it was usually over. He often went for the horns, her pride and glory. She hated that, though the competitive fighter in her refused to say it. Sure, Cera was nearing the end of The Time of Great Growing herself. In fact, she was certain that she was just a _tad _heavier than he was. That bothered her most of all. It wasn't just his size or his teeth. He was just ... _better_ than she was. He instinctively knew how to get the upper hand, consistently winning at least two out of every three battles lately. Though less than ideal, that wasn't the worst ratio for her, but considering the fact that they fought over multiple rounds, he invariably won overall. The fact that he was so sheepish about his victories irritated her even more, but the thing that bothered her most this time around?

**He hadn't even been paying attention, and he ****_still _****won!**

"Should I stop grabbing your horns?" Chomper suggested for the umpteenth time.

**"Chomper, don't you ****_DARE _****go easy on me!" **Cera snapped before smiling smugly. "Besides, the girls can take anything you dish."

Chomper was about to ask who 'the girls' were, until he remembered that Cera referred to her horns as though they were dinosaurs. She'd even named them, though he could never quite recall the names.

The threehorn assumed a combat stance. "Okay, let's go again."

"Hold it," Doc interrupted.

"I think we see what your problem is," added Mr. Thicknose.

The teenagers turned their attention to the adults, who had been watching the battles and comparing notes.

"The problem is he thinks like a sharptooth, and you think like something a sharptooth eats," Doc explained.

Cera frowned. She did _not _like that conclusion. Chomper seemed to like it even less, glancing at his friend before sighing at the ground.

Doc gave him an empathetic look. "It's a good thing you're here to help her out. What you teach Cera might save her in the future."

Chomper's spirits seemed to lift, even if slightly. "Thanks, Sir."

Cera gave him a critical glance. She just called the guy 'Doc'. Chomper insisted on the polite approach. She got the distinct impression that he was intimidated by The Lone Dinosaur, even after all these years. It was strange, hearing Chomper's meek, friendly voice deepen into a mild growl as he grew older. He would often lighten his tone so as to sound less aggressive, especially around Doc. One of these days, she was going to tell him that it sounded more forced than anything else.

"Why do you think it's so hard to break his grip?" asked Mr. Thicknose.

Cera gave him a look that said 'like, duh'. "I'm just not strong enough, I guess."

"No, you're not _smart _enough," Doc corrected.

Chomper winced. She would not take this well.

Cera gaped at the indignation. **"No! ****_No!_**** With all due respect, I am ****_plenty _****smart! I mean, at least it's not like I'm ****_dumb,_**** and it's not like Chompers a _genius_ or something** ... no offence?"

Chomper shrugged his tiny arms. "Eh, I didn't think I was that smart either."

Cera almost flew at him. **"Will you STOP being so ****_MODEST!?"_**

At the back of her mind, Cera noticed Chomper jerk towards her the moment she raised her voice. Usually he winced away, but it was such a fleeting action that she rapidly dismissed it as unimportant. Besides, she was too annoyed to pay attention to such subtle body language. His flight instinct took over and he shrank from her. Now _that _was the Chomper she knew.

The sharptooth quickly stepped away from the angry threehorn with a nervous smile. "Okay, it's been fun! I gotta go find lunch, bye!"

He made a break for it. Cera looked as though she might give chase.

**"You finished breakfast ****_half a _****_nap_**** ago!"** she barked.

**"I'm still hungry!"** Chomper explained.

"Cera, calm down. You too, Chomper," Doc instructed.

The sharptooth froze in his tracks before retracing his steps. "Yes, Alpha ... I- I mean, Sir!"

Chomper was sure to stand a decent distance from her horns, though.

"You need to think like a sharptooth," Doc instructed Cera. "He's a smart fighter. He's always thinkin'. He knows what works and if it doesn't work he tries somethin' new. You think too, but not as much. You fall back on the same techniques - _good_ techniques, but he knows them too well. When things go wrong, you stop thinkin' altogether and try to muscle your way out."

Cera lightly kicked a pebble. She knew that she needed to hear this, even if she didn't like it.

"So ... how do I start thinking like a sharptooth?" she asked.

"If something doesn't work, try somethin' else," Doc instructed. "Don't just throw your strength and training at him. Be methodical. Look for opportunities, note your weaknesses. You can break his grips with mind and muscle. If he confuses you, ask him why he did what he did, _how _he did what he did. Oh, and show up more often for our Imagination Sessions."

Mr. Thicknose raised an interested eyebrow. "'Imagination Sessions'? _Interesting._ I'd like to hear about it. Hmm ..."

"What?" asked Doc.

"Heh, call me puerile, but I found myself wondering which of our students will prove to be more formidable."

"We already know the answer," Doc replied with a small smile. "Littlefoot rivals Chomper's resourcefulness. That in mind, I don't have to tell you how he fares against Cera."

The threehorn was practically steaming.

"Remarkable boy, that one," Mr. Thicknose commented, "but don't write off Cera just yet. Her determination is exceptional, even for a threehorn. I believe all she needs is the occasional push in the right direction."

Doc nodded his acknowledgement. "Time will tell, but either way I think we should collaborate more. Our students can sharpen each other, same way we can as teachers."

Mr. Thicknose smiled with a chuckle. "I'm surprised we didn't think of that before! It would be my _pleasure."_

"Good," Doc finalised. "Now, I'd like to know where you learnt the training Cera's gettin'. It's familiar ..."

"Excuse me, Sir ... um, _Sirs,_" cut in Chomper. "Mind if I come back later? I really _am_ still hungry."

Doc respected Chomper, but nonetheless he gave the sharptooth a borderline wary look.

"Are you not gettin' enough to eat?" he asked.

A mild awkwardness fell upon the leafeaters.

Chomper fidgeted with his claws. "Well ... it's kind of complicated. I've been eating water breathers. Crawlers too, but it's hard to find the big ones. Don't worry, I will. I've figured out that some of them live in nests. I found one and ... kind of ate all the crawlers in it, but I'm sure they're more nests since I'm still finding that type of crawler around here. I just have to find them, that's all."

"Try close to my nest," Doc suggested. "Been seeing a good number there lately. They've been buggin' Darla and I."

"Thanks, Sir!" Chomper exclaimed.

Having faced a few mild crawler infestations, the valley's residents were coming to see Chomper as a manner of pest control. It tempered the disapproval of those who thought a sharptooth had no business growing up in The Great Valley, and Chomper was eager to earn his keep.

"Meet us in two naps," Doc instructed.

"Thanks, bye!" Chomper called as he ran off to do his duty.

Not far on his way, the sharptooth came upon a nest full of recently hatched swimmers, being tended to by their mother.

He smiled at the endearing sight, before finding himself briefly licking his chops.

The mother soon noticed him. Giving the sharptooth an uncomfortable smile and a small wave, she made an attempt to subtly shield her young from his sight. She failed on the 'subtle' part.

Chomper's smile fell. The biggest blow came when he realised he was beginning to drool.

With heavy feet and an even heavier heart, he trudged away from the scene. This crossed the line. He'd made his decision.

* * *

_Year 4_

_Day 247_

_Morning_

* * *

Skip jumped awake as his burrow shook.

**Finally,** **some** _**excitement!**_

Make no mistake, the fuzzy creature enjoyed life in The Great Valley, but after growing up in The Mysterious Beyond, sometimes it got a little ... slow. One of his favourite things to do was watch Littlefoot and his friends training over the years, but this? **This sounded like a full-fledged ****_battle!_** Had a sharptooth invaded the valley? He supposed he shouldn't have been happy about that, but if something was going down, it wouldn't hurt to at least take a peek. Maybe he could help in his own small way. Besides, the burrow was beginning to collapse.

Scampering through the entrance (while there was still an entrance), Skip gawked at the sight before him. It was Littlefoot ... wailing on nothing but the earth beneath him.

**"Hey, Littlefoot!"** Skip called.

Of course, Littlefoot wasn't quite living up to his name anymore. The Time of Great Growing had done wonders in a few short years. He was already two thirds the size of his grandparents, which sometimes made it difficult for him to hear a creature roughly as big as a small dog, Skip fitting that description. The din he made as he pounded the ground with every ounce of his weight didn't help much.

Skip cleared his throat before giving his best shot. **"LITTLEFOOT!"**

The longneck paused, panting from the exertion. "Oh, hi Skip. Did I wake you?"

Skip looked back at his burrow. He didn't have the heart to tell Littlefoot that he'd probably destroyed half his home to boot.

"Eh, I oversleep anyways," Skip shrugged.

"Sorry, I'm trying to call Chomper with my Earth Whisper," the longneck explained.

"Ain't nothin' whispery about this," Skip commented. "What's up? Somethin' wrong?"

"Chomper told us he was going with Ruby to see her parents, but it turns out Ruby left _before _he disappeared! He's been acting weird for a while now, especially the past few days! I can't help but worry ..."

Skip scratched his head. "Hm ... and you haven't seen him since yesterday morning, when he left for The Mysterious Beyond?"

Littlefoot almost choked on his shock. ** "How do you know for sure he-?"**

"I saw him."

**"Why didn't you-!?"**

"Hey, this isn't the first time you guys have wandered into The Mysterious Beyond," Skip parried. "At this stage I'm more accustomed to covering for you than tattling!"

Littlefoot immediately thundered an Earth Whisper, telling Cera where he would be and when to meet him. Yesterday would be a good time. Unfortunately, his other pals didn't understand Earth Whispers, so he had to find them the old-fashioned way.

Skip yelped as he ducked Littlefoot's sweeping tail (not that it swung low enough to hit him anyway). Shock waves ripped through the soil as the longneck thundered off to find the rest of his friends.

**"You're ****_welcome!" _**Skip called after him.

He had half a mind to follow Littlefoot. Tagging along on some of their adventures was the highlight of his life: a rare treat since they never announced plans for their risky escapades beforehand. He still had his burrow to repair, though. The thought of brushing with death (it was bound to happen) and not having a warm home to return to that night didn't appeal to him. Hold on a second ... since when did _he_ care about the finer things in life! **Life in The Great Valley was making him ****_soft!_**

**"Hey! Wait up!"** he called as he dashed after the, for want of a better word, rampaging longneck. **"You need a guide!"**

* * *

_Midday_

* * *

Skip took a deep breath, savouring The Mysterious Beyond's ever-changing aromas. In The Great Valley, visitors came and went. Some stayed. The occasional resident departed, but other than that not much changed in recent times. Yes, seasons sculpted the valley like clockwork every year, but that was the problem: the clockwork. Out here, the earthshakes hit harder, pounding the land to suit their chaotically artistic vision. Predators and prey were always on their toes in the ever-changing dance of life. However, there was one thing that remained constant.

Red Claw.

"You still have Chomper's scent?" Petrie asked a little too loudly.

Wincing, Skip answered in a low voice, hoping to lead by example. "Yup, and Red Claw's."

"You say that everywhere we go," Cera quietly remarked.

"'Cause I don't want you to forget it," Skip explained. "Sure, Red Claw's not the only sharptooth around here, but he's definitely the biggest."

"Yeah, big enough to take on a fully grown longneck by himself without much of a problem," Littlefoot agreed in an equally subdued voice: no small feat considering his size. "I've seen unusually big sharpteeth before, but Red Claw's almost as big as the one who stalked us when the five of us first met."

"That's because they're rogues," Skip explained. "Most big sharpteeth hunt by themselves, but they were raised in a family and they can call on each other for a difficult hunt. Not rogues like Red Claw. They grew up all alone, so they had to get even bigger to take care of themselves. They usually don't work with other sharpteeth."

Doc had told Littlefoot more or less the same thing years ago, but the longneck wordlessly nodded anyway. Then his mind wandered to Chomper's seemingly never-ending growth spurt. He'd shot past Cera in the last year, and it didn't seem like he was going to stop soon.

"From the look of things, Chomper's gonna be one of the larger ones," Littlefoot commented, "but he didn't grow up alone, so he can't be a rogue. Then how's he getting so big? Hmm ... maybe it's because we're not sharpteeth, and he had to do all his hunting by himself, so it's like we don't count."

Skip nodded. Littlefoot had answered his own question quite conclusively, so he saw no need to add anything.

"Red Claw works with Screech and Thud, doesn't he?" Ducky chimed in. "He's not exactly alone either."

Skip flinched at her 'outside voice'. "They must have met him when he was fully grown. Oh, and he doesn't 'work with_' _them. _They _work for _him,_ and they're _very _good at it, so try to keep the noise down and stay vigilant."

The fuzzy jumped as several rocks tumbled down a hill to his side. He shot Spike a glare.

Having created a miniature avalanche after tugging at a bush growing from beneath the rocks, Spike gave the Skip a guilty glance ... before proceeding to devour the bush ... _loudly._

Skip shook his head as they moved on. It was a wonder they'd survived The Mysterious Beyond without him! He updated his mental record of all the things they'd done to draw attention to themselves, right down to their noisy, indiscriminate footsteps. If there were a dry plant or an unstable rock, he could count on someone to step on it. In all fairness, The Great Valley was a pedicured garden compared to jungle of obstacles that was The Mysterious Beyond. Even the plants and geography had an almost conspicuously tame sense of order, and the residents made it a point to keep their environment tidy. The youngsters weren't used to manoeuvring through such a rowdy setting, especially after their growth spurts. Even so, most leafeaters were like walking dinner bells outside of The Great Valley.

He looked back to check on Littlefoot and Cera.

"What?" asked Cera.

"Oh, nothin'," Skip answered. "Just making sure you're still with us."

That statement felt ... weird. Honestly, he was expecting the most noise from those two. Littlefoot was quite massive and Cera had a tendency to stomp for stomping's sake. Sometimes he wondered if she liked feeling the ground shake beneath her feet as she got bigger, but out here? Littlefoot and Cera were like ghosts. He couldn't hear them. He could hardly feel their footfalls unless they were a few steps away. The way they moved ... the way their eyes subtly hunted their surroundings for threats. They weren't acting like leafeaters.

They were acting like sharpteeth.

Skip shook unsettling nature of that thought from his head. Come to think of it, that only made sense. They were trained to fight sharpteeth. Matching wits with a sharptooth meant thinking like a sharptooth to some degree.

Still ... it was creepy.

Wanting to move on from the thought (and kicking himself for being so easily perturbed), Skip decided to elaborate on the rich history of Red Claw. "The big guy prefers to avoid herds, but half the far walkers who travel alone run into him. Few live to tell the tale. It's like he's_ everywhere._ His territory encircles the entire valley. Not the part at the edge of The Big Water, though. Those tiny arms ain't much good for swimming."

Littlefoot raised an eyebrow. "But the valley's _huge."_

"He, Screech and Thud patrol around it regularly," Skip went on. "Can't figure out how he always knows where to hunt, though."

Littlefoot looked up at a flying nibbler in the canopy. If he hadn't kept his eyes peeled for sharpteeth, he probably wouldn't have noticed it. Upon leaving the valley, he had spotted two grooming each other. One flew off as they drew near. The other one? He was pretty sure the nibbler above them was the same one. He recognised the white speckles on its dark fur.

The nibbler blinked at him before setting its eyes on a grasshopper. The insect caught wind of its would-be hunter and took flight, chased by the flyer.

Cera followed his gaze and smirked. "First the Cornerstones. Then the flying nibblers? Is there anything you're _not_ scared of these days?"

"I'm not scared of the nibblers ... yet," Littlefoot answered. "Although I wonder why they behave differently outside The Great Valley."

Cera shrugged. "They eat dead dinosaurs instead of bugs out here, but I don't see the big deal. Who knows why critters behave the way they do?"

Littlefoot cast the canopy another glance. "They're not just critters. They're little sharpteeth, and what I _do _know is that most sharpteeth are as smart as we are. They're even smarter in some ways."

Cera huffed. "Yeah, so I've heard."

"I mean, not in _all _ways, but you gotta admit they're smart when it comes to hunting and fighting," Littlefoot went on. "Take Chomper for example-"

Cera rolled her eyes. "Don't remind me. When we're training, he just naturally knows how to think on his feet."

"Yeah, and and he's one of the _nice _ones!" Littlefoot added.

"Try the _only _nice one," the threehorn corrected.

Though she had no way of confirming that statement, Cera was feeling a tad disagreeable. She still didn't like the idea of a creature having sharper teeth _and_ a sharper mind than she did.

"If they're so smart, why do we even bother training to outwit them?" she pressed.

"We've outsmarted them before. It's not impossible," Littlefoot parried. "My point is we shouldn't underestimate them."

"Eh, I guess you have a point," Cera conceded halfheartedly. "After all, they've got to at least be smart enough to pick their battles and win regularly ... otherwise, they wouldn't eat." She shook her head in disgust before shifting the subject. "But flying nibblers are barely even sharpteeth. Chomper says they can't speak his language. They're just ... tiny things, like buzzers."

Littlefoot checked the canopy one last time. "I dunno. Maybe that's what they _want_ us to ... I dunno."

Cera gave a slow nod as though she were speaking to a conspiracy theorist oozing paranoia.

Littlefoot sighed. "Nevermind. Let's just ..."

She caught him freeze for a nigh imperceptible moment as his eyes flicked to the bushes.

"What?" asked the threehorn.

"Act casual," Littlefoot instructed.

He sounded normal enough, but the subtle quaver in his voice was not lost on her.

"Huddle up, guys," the longneck instructed.

Catching his drift, Cera sauntered to the opposite side of her friends, managing to keep the tension in her muscles at a minimum. They'd practised this.

"Okay ..." agreed Ducky, confused by the way Cera gently herded her closer to the others. "Is something wrong?"

Littlefoot smiled down at her. "Stay calm. Cera and I will-"

A fast biter exploded from the bushes, brandishing teeth and talons.

Screech.

With the exception of Cera and Littlefoot, the leafeaters froze.

***( ( KRA-****_KOOOM!_**** ) )***

* * *

A distance away, Chomper raised his head, recognising the boom and charging towards it with urgency.

* * *

Two fast runners proudly smiled down at their daughter, who had been floored by her mother's swing of a tail.

"Good job, my daughter, good job!" her father commended.

"Yes," her mother agreed. "Although you'd be much harder to knock down as quickly if you moved quickly enough to not be knocked down."

Ruby rolled onto her feet. "Yeah. I've lost some speed, living in the valley. It's a good thing you guys are here to help me find it again."

"You're getting faster," her father stated. "And you'll only keep getting faster if we keep this up on your visits. Let's try again."

Suddenly, the thunder crack met their ears.

Ruby squinted in thought. That noise was somewhat familiar, although it was hard to tell with the way it bounced across the cliffs.

"Sounds like someone's facing a sharptooth," Ruby's mother commented.

Her siblings stared at the landscape beneath the ledge of their cave under Hanging Rock. Their parents joined them, following their gaze to spot trees violently shaken as a massive, unseen form barrelled beneath them.

"That 'someone' is not facing Red Claw, but they will face him when he gets there," her father declared.

Her mother turned her eyes to the sky. "And that brave, crazy flyer's heading where Red Claw's heading again. **Ruby! Where are you ****_going?"_**

The pink fast runner didn't even chance stopping as she bolted down the pathway. **"I just realised! That thunder sounds familiar, 'cause I'm familiar with the one who makes it!"**

Her parents exchanged glances before her father nudged her mother.

"Take care of the children, Cerise," he requested. "I'll be back."

She returned the nudge. "Stay safe, Cerulean, just as I know Ruby will be safe with you."

Parting with a smile, Ruby's father dashed after her.

* * *

It was Screech's turn to freeze.

Cera smirked. Most of her friends were stunned by the ear-pounding sound. It was like thunder. They were _sure_ it was thunder. It took a moment for them to spot Littlefoot's tail drawing back after doing its work. Eyes popped. They had heard grownups do it on occasion. They had heard Littlefoot practising it at a distance, but never this close. Never had they thought that Littlefoot's tail could crack the thunder of a longneck twice his size. Since the beginning, training had been Littlefoot and Cera's 'thing'. Sometimes the others felt as though the two were part of an exclusive club. Training seemed to have its place in a vacuum outside their friendship, but when Littlefoot shattered the air with his tail?

Things were starting to get real.

With Littlefoot and Cera guarding them on either side, the leafeaters' spirits found cause for confidence.

"Screech is _**alone!** _He**_ is, _**he** _is!" _**Ducky cheered.

"And Cera and Littlefoot are _bigger _than he is!" added Petrie. "Teach 'im a lesson, guys!"

Meanwhile, Cera frowned. Screech and Thud always hunted as a pair.

Littlefoot scanned the bushes. Screech tugged at his attention with a snarl, but Littlefoot tried not to focus on him alone. Clever boy, trying to keep all eyes on him.

Even as the others were still speaking, Littlefoot gave the ground a light stomp. When Cera stomped back in response, he discretely pattered the soil with his feet. It looked like fidgeting, but she read his Earth Whisper loud and clear.

_( ( Thud is here ) )_

Cera replied with an Earth Whisper of her own.

_( ( I figured ) )_

"Eyes peeled, everyone," Littlefoot warned.

Screech tilted his head at the longneck, clicking the gravel with his sickle-shaped claw. He knew these youngsters. They'd slipped through his claws on many occasions. Now that they were bigger and presumably less 'slippery', he was looking forward to using his wits to take down such sizeable prey ... but something wasn't right. Looking into the longneck's intense, intelligent eyes, he saw that they now had something in common.

A mind with sharp teeth.

Littlefoot opened his mouth to speak sharptooth when Screech released a deafening cry.

Skip shuddered. **"He's calling ****_Red Claw!"_**

The fast biter flicked his gaze at the bushes to his right. Littlefoot followed his gaze. Thud was hiding there? Bad move, giving away his partner's position.

"Watch the bushes on your right," Littlefoot cautioned Cera.

Screech chittered a command before charging. It was a trick!

**"Your left! Your****_ left!" _**Littlefoot corrected.

At the side of her eye, Cera saw the blur. She whipped around, startling Thud with her speed. He scarcely managed to dodge the horns before darting past her. She wasn't the target? Then who-?

**"LITTLEFOOT!" **Cera called.

The longneck spotted the shadow of the fast biter pouncing from behind him. It made perfect sense. His long neck was more fragile than Cera's. Big as he was, he seemed the easiest, most rewarding target of the two.

They couldn't be more wrong.

Littlefoot swiftly swayed into a dodge. Thud's claws glanced off his back. **This longneck was ****_fast!_**

Screech scrambled out of the way as his partner came crashing down.

Thud was quick to his feet, only to find the longneck's powerful tail wrapped around him. He bit and scratched as best he could. Though flexible, a longneck's tail was built for battle, the tip being one of the hardest parts of their bodies. Though that was always the case, something wasn't right. Never had a longneck's tail so thoroughly withstood his teeth and claws.

Not since The Lone Dinosaur.

Littlefoot could practically see the deadly thoughts racing through Screech's mind as the predator tried to hatch a plan. The fast biters' met eyes in a moment of non-verbal agreement. Without warning, Screech released a heartfelt croon of concern for his friend, just loud enough to be heard.

Thud crooned back, assuring Screech that he was fine.

Cera raised an eyebrow. She'd seen those two in danger before. It brought out fear or anger. It never made them release borderline cute sounds designed to tug at the heartstrings. She huffed. Her heartstrings would remain rigid, thank you very much. However, she caught Littlefoot soften a nuance. Oh _please! _Was he actually falling for this? ... Maybe that was the point.

Littlefoot cleared his throat. Okay, time for the secret weapon. He rumbled and cooed in the sharptooth tongue, assuring Screech that the fast biter didn't need to save his friend. They could _all _be friends.

Cera almost laughed. She would bet tree sweets that Screech never, in his wildest sleep stories, had expected a leafeater to speak his language. The look on his face was _priceless!_ If he'd let his jaw hang much longer, something would crawl in there an have babies! She didn't like the way his expression morphed into intent, contemplative silence, though. She couldn't tell if he was considering Littlefoot's offer, or simply rethinking his battle plan.

Screech gave an incensed glare as he growled in accusation: If they wanted to be 'friends', why were they trespassing on Red Claw's territory?

The longneck swallowed. This was his first conversation with a sharptooth, notwithstanding Chomper. Exciting as it was, he had to tread carefully.

Littlefoot undulated his response. Red Claw's territory encircled the entire valley, except for the part that touched The Big Water. How were they supposed to come and go without trespassing?

Screech thought for a moment before throbbing that the longneck had a point. Some negotiation was in order.

Littlefoot couldn't believe it! They were making _progress!_

Screech glanced among the group, briefly scowling at the fuzzy creature who had eluded their jaws even more so than The Gang of Seven. It almost looked like a quick head count. He remarked that the young sharptooth was missing. Were they looking for their friend?

The longneck hesitated. He knew sharpteeth were smart, but seeing Screech make such a rapid deduction was rather unsettling.

Littlefoot grunted an affirmative.

Thud informed him that they had seen a young sharptooth not long ago: a distance off, but in retrospect he was quite sure it was their sharptooth. He'd spoken with that youngster in the past. He was a good kid. Thud knew where he was heading, and agreed to help them find him, as long as the longneck released him.

Littlefoot carefully considered that. He replied that they already had a guide. The fast biters could point them in the right direction, but he would only release Thud when they called off Red Claw.

Screech's gaze hardened. Nonetheless, he lifted his head and released a long-distance roar before demanding they release Thud.

Littlefoot remarked that he understood Screech's first roar. The biter had addressed Red Claw by name, telling him exactly where they were. Littlefoot did _not_ recognise the second call. Had Screech actually called off Red Claw, or just _pretended_ to do so?

The fast biter gave an indignant snarl before explaining that some of their calls were personal, and would not be understood by other sharpteeth. Besides, why would he endanger his best friend with a fake call?

Thud released a sudden cry, claiming that Littlefoot was crushing him. The longneck insisted that he was not. Thud only squealed all the louder, making it harder for Littlefoot to hear his own thoughts, much less voice them. Suddenly, Thud's squealing ceased.

Littlefoot looked back to see Cera with her horn inches from the sharptooth's neck.

She smiled brightly. "Excuse me. Hi, Thud. I'm Cera. **Now s****_hut. Up."_**

No translation necessary.

Screech fumed an accusation: **They were ****_LIARS! _****They cared ****_NOTHING _****about friendship! If they did, they would stop ****_hurting_**** his ****_best friend_**** and let him GO!**

Littlefoot's gaze snapped to his feet. If not for his Earth Whisper training, he might not have noticed the tremors rippling through the ground. They were subtle, but they were unmistakably getting bigger.

Clearly Skip picked up the same thing. **"R-Red Claw's coming! He's coming ****_FAST!"_**

Littlefoot growled at the fast biters: **This conversation was was****_ over!_**** Screech hadn't called off Red Claw! He was just buying time!**

Screech growled back, arguing that this was _Red Claw _they were talking about! There was no 'calling him off', but their alpha would have mercy if the leafeaters would just calm down and-!

The longneck cut him off with a snarl. **No! They would be leaving now! They would release Thud later, and Screech had ****_better_**** not follow, otherwise Thud was ****_history!_**

Screech's eyes fluttered. Had that leafeater just _snarled _at him? Like an actual _sharptooth? _Growls were one thing, but this was bizarre, unnerving and altogether _**unacceptable!**_ He began to protest, but Littlefoot chased him off with a swing of his giant tail regardless of its flailing captive, Thud. He had no intention of ending Thud, but he was betting that Screech didn't know that.

**"Skip! Lead the way!" **Littlefoot commanded. **"We're not leaving Chomper out here! How fast can you track?"**

**"As fast as I need to!"** Skip assured, putting his speed to good use as he darted ahead of them.

**"Cera! Clear a path behind Skip!" **Littlefoot went on.

The threehorn was already charging behind the fuzzy. **"Way ahead of you!"**

There was nothing quite like watching a full-grown threehorn tearing through the jungle. Cera wasn't fully grown, but she was close enough and already stronger and faster than most of the adults. Ducky, Petrie and Spike were briefly stunned by the sight as Cera expertly uprooted trees, splintered trunks, flattened bushes, knocked aside boulders and smashed those that refused to cooperate.

"Have you ... done this before?" asked Ducky.

"We've practised," Littlefoot replied. **"Petrie, we need eyes in the sky! If you see Chomper or Red Claw, tell us! Everyone, ****_MOVE!"_**

Jarred by the urgency in his voice, Petrie flapped above the trees. Ducky and Spike rushed after Cera and Littlefoot followed, guarding the rear.

"I think I know where Chomper's headin'!" Skip called back as he hurried to stay ahead of a rampaging Cera. "There's a shortcut we could use to shake Red Claw, but ... uh oh ..."

**"I see ****_Red Claw!"_** Petrie interrupted from above.

**"That shortcut: take us there!"** Littlefoot urged.

"Ya know the advantage you had when you were little?" asked Skip. "You were _little! _You could hide and fit places the sharpteeth couldn't! Now, even your**_ scents_** are bigger! We can't shake 'em!"

Cera smashed through a boulder and they began to rush through a narrow gap between two cliffs.

**"Careful! It's unstable!" **Skip warned.

Littlefoot looked back and managed to spot Screech among the bushes. Either the fast biter didn't care enough about Thud, simply didn't believe Littlefoot's threat, or both.

The longneck rose to his hind legs as high as he could to survey their surroundings before fortunately spotting a small lake. He'd heard fast biters could swim.

"How deep is that water hole?" asked Littlefoot.

Skip briefly looked back, taking account of the direction in which Littlefoot was staring. **_"Very _**deep! Why?"

The answer came when Littlefoot tossed a shrieking Thud across the trees, right into the water, not that anyone could hear the splash from there.

Skip laughed, having seen what happened with another backwards glance.

The longneck pointedly locked eyes with Screech. The fast biter's teeth were gnashed, steam practically pouring from his nostrils. Still, he refused to go and check on his 'best friend'.

Littlefoot spoke to Screech in a snarl. **He knew their ruse! If they didn't care enough to check on each other, they _definitely _didn't care enough to be friends with leafeaters!**

With that, Littlefoot charged between the cliffs. He saw Screech hurrying after him. Not for long. Slamming his shoulder into an incline, he sent a landslide of boulders crashing between the leafeaters and fast biter.

Screech skidded to a stop, roaring after the infuriatingly elusive prey before heeding the call of a much larger sharptooth.

...

Once they'd reached a more spacious region of the canyon, Littlefoot pounded ahead of Ducky and Spike. They'd think the longneck and threehorn had surprised them enough for one adventure, but Littlefoot and Cera found ways to keep their friends in a constant state of _'whoa!'_ Seeing Littlefoot train for speed was one thing. Having him easily overtake both Spike and Ducky, sprinting at their fastest, was another story.

With several tons of rocks behind them, Littlefoot figured he was more useful at the front than the back, using his height to spot any unwelcome surprises they may run into. Of course, that was Petrie's job, but an extra pair of eyes and a good, strong tail whack would always come in handy.

**"Petrie! Where's Red Claw?"** asked Littlefoot.

**"I don't see him!"** the flyer announced. **"Not sure where he went!"**

That should have been good news, but Littlefoot didn't like it. He would have been more comfortable knowing their enemy's movements.

His eyes popped. He'd spotted a shadow cast from beyond the next turn. It was faint, due to the thin layer of cloud obscuring The Bright Circle at that time. However, he recognised the form, even the jaws spreading in anticipation. If not for his high vantage point, he wouldn't have seen it.

**"Everyone, to your right! ****_NOW!" _**the longneck commanded.

The others scrambled away from the corner.

Sensing that his prey was onto him, the sharptooth charged from his hiding place and lunged towards Ducky. A powerful tail wrapped around his jaws, clamping them shut before shoving him away from the swimmer.

The sharptooth growled, though somewhat surprised to find his opponent a teenage longneck who still had a fair amount of growing to do. This sharptooth had felled longnecks that size. They were bigger than he was, but all it took was a little cunning and a deadly bite. None had ever caught him mid-pounce, though. He was sure it had been an adult, considering the powerful grip.

Littlefoot figured this sharptooth had slipped past Petrie on account of his stone-coloured scales blending into the canyon.

"You're not Red Claw," he thought aloud, before growling a warning not to follow them, or **_else_.**

The sharptooth's face contorted from surprise to disgust and fury. ** Someone had taught this leafeater to speak?! ****_Abominable!_**

He threw himself at the longneck.

Littlefoot turned as though to run, only to hammer the sharptooth with a blow of his tail. Practically flying back, the predator smashed into the cliff wall and down came another avalanche. The longneck took off, scarcely escaping the the rocks before they buried the sharptooth.

Exiting the canyon, the dinosaurs found themselves in a much more spacious stretch laden with palm trees. No longer needing to clear a path, Cera surged to full speed, nearly trampling Skip and leaving the others in the dust.

**"Cera! You're going too _fast!"_** Littlefoot warned, accelerating to catch up with her.

**"Sorry!"** she apologised, slowing.

The Earth was shaking.

Sure, four running dinosaurs had a tendency to make it do that, but this was different. Something big was behind them. Even before hearing the ear-splitting roar, they all knew.

_That _was Red Claw.

**"I see him! I ****_SEE _****HIM!" **Petrie shrieked.

Littlefoot looked back to witness the giant sharptooth storming towards them, with Screech and a very wet Thud laced with pond scum racing alongside him. Maybe he and Cera could outrun them, but the others? They were tired. Their speed was already dropping.

"Guess it's on me!" Cera declared with a cocky grin. "Skip, get the others out of here! Littlefoot, keep Screech and Thud from following them! **_I'll _take _Red Claw!"_**

Littlefoot almost choked on his shock. **_"WHAT?!"_**

"Your tail's long and fast: better for handling fast biters!" Cera quickly explained, lifting her horns with what they interpreted as pride. "I can counter Red Claw's teeth with the _girls! _Chomper taught me everything I need to know! Besides, you've still got more growing to do than I do!"

"But ... we wanna ... help!" Ducky panted.

**"You're exhausted and you can't fight," **Cera snapped. **"Do ****_not _****make me tell you again!"**

The swimmer winced.

**"But he's ****_Red Claw!" _**Littlefoot argued. **"You can't-!"**

Cera rolled her eyes. Did she have to spell it out for him?

Littlefoot's argument was cut short when Cera gave him a glimpse of her inner self. Her legs briefly quavered. Her grin flickered. Fear flashed fleetingly in her eyes. She knew her chances. She would fight with everything she had, but she didn't need to 'take down' Red Claw. She only needed to take him on until her friends got to safety.

Cera's confident grin returned with a vengeance. **"Tell Daddy I went out like ****_burning mountain!"_**

The threehorn skidded into a turn, allowing the others to pass before raging towards Red Claw. Littlefoot followed, his attention on the fast biters.

**"Come at me, ****_PINK EYE!" _**Cera taunted.

Of course, her trash talk meant nothing to sharpteeth, but Cera had one trick up her sleeve. She remembered that forbidden combination of sounds Chomper had told Littlefoot _never_ to say to a sharptooth. She didn't know what it meant, but she'd privately practised it for years, waiting for the perfect moment.

The moment had come.

Littlefoot's jaw went loose as Cera growled the granddaddy of all 'no no'es in the sharptooth language. Having learnt much more more about the sharptooth tongue since he had first heard it, he'd figured out what that particular noise meant ... in every ... revolting ... detail ...

Cera grinned all the more. Doc had once explained why sharpteeth roared. It was a psychological attack. They did it to stun their prey with sheer terror. Red Claw, Screech and Thud didn't look 'scared', but they immediately slowed to a stop as they stared at the threehorn in abject shock - definitely stunned.

She laughed. This was _better_ than a roar!

* * *

**You may notice that Petrie's grammar has improved. That's simply a matter of age, and it seemed logical to me given that none of the older flyers appear to speak the way he did as a kid.**

**There's a 'Dinotopia: Quest for The Ruby Sunstone' reference in this chapter, as well as a 'Jurassic Park' one. Think you can identify it?**

**Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6: Facing Red Claw, Ready or Not

Chapter 6

Facing Red Claw, Ready or Not

* * *

_Year 4_

_Day 33_

* * *

_Chomper almost yawned. Cera was charging him head-on. Again. Doc and Mr. Thicknose's input hadn't done much, apparently. Oh well. He couldn't expect her to recreate her entire fighting style overnight._

_Targeting her horn, his predatory mind quickly calculated the perfect timing, the perfect motion._

_***CHOMP!***_

_**He'd missed! **__How could he miss? It was a perfect bite! No. He hadn't simply 'missed'. She was coming at him, but then she'd stopped, pulling her head back and leaving him to snap air. He'd scarcely registered that before Cera gave her head a sharp swing, striking his jaw with her horn._

_The sharptooth froze, eyes wide as he processed the turn of events._

_Cera wondered if she'd broken him. "C'mon! I didn't hit you__** that**__ hard, did I?"_

_A big smile lit up the sharptooth's face. __**"That. Was. AWESOME, Cera!"**_

_She blinked in surprise before raising her chin in pride. "Thanks."_

_Cera had to admit: Chomper's genuine praise and enthusiasm was a pretty good pick-me-up._

_"That might be enough to take down a sharptooth!" Chomper stated excitedly. "Of course, you'll need more tricks than that, and you'll need to hit as hard as you can without losing balance. Sharpteeth try to end a fight as quickly as possible, so you should too."_

_"Oh, __**I'll **__hit harder, alright," Cera assured with a smirk. "If it doesn't work, we've got plenty of time to work on some more tricks."_

_Chomper slowly nodded. His thoughts seemed to wander after the 'plenty of time' part._

_"Uh, hey, you okay?" asked Cera._

_Chomper grinned with unexpected confidence. "Absolutely! When we're done, Red Claw himself will be at your mercy!"_

* * *

_Year 4_

_Day 247_

* * *

Cera accelerated as Red Claw stood in a stupor, still stunned by her horrendous insult in the sharptooth tongue. She was almost fully grown, but he was nearly twice her size. Nonetheless, she was ready.

Every day of her training had his name on it.

Red Claw's shock turned to outrage. He didn't roar, didn't growl. He simply gestured Screech and Thud to attack the longneck before standing there in silent fury. Did he expect her to run into his jaws? He had another thing coming!

Cera was at the edge of pouncing range when Red Claw lunged. She stopped abruptly, drawing back. His mighty jaws crashed together like a thunderclap, jarring her ears as they fell just short of her. The threehorn screamed a battle cry as she smashed her horns into the side of his chin. The impact sent a shockwave through her skull. It felt _good!_ Time seemed to slow as Cera etched the moment into her memory, relishing the bafflement rippling across Red Claw's face as his head lurched. She bet no threehorn had taken him down in one hit! Red Claw seemed to flash her a glare as he continued to reel. Wait ... he wasn't falling. He was no longer reeling either. He was turning. While his head pivoted away with the momentum, his tail blazed towards her. She almost didn't see it. There was no time to dodge. No time to counter. Cera could only crouch low and brace herself.

Half the breath blasted from her lungs as Red Claw's tail met her side. The strike arced upwards, like a golfer's swing, specifically intended to overturn her. Trepidation spiked through the threehorn as she found herself toppling. This wasn't supposed to happen! Once she lowered her centre of gravity, no one had knocked her down in one stroke! Not Chomper, not even Littlefoot! Maybe that was the problem. Littlefoot and Chomper sparred with her as friends.

Red Claw fought her as a killer.

Upon hitting the ground, Cera skilfully rolled with the blow, ending up back on her feet. She could scarcely stand before Red Claw's teeth latched around her horn. He was fast. So was she. The threehorn hammered his muzzle with her forepaw. The horn slipped free. After knocking his head skywards with a headbutt, she rammed his stomach. He slid back, but didn't drop. **Why wouldn't this brute go down?! **Then came the realisation. She recognised the feel of the hide against her horns.

Red Claw had stone scales.

Unforgiving jaws clamped her back: easily the most painful, terrifying thing she'd ever felt. If not for her own stone-hardened scales, the battle might have ended there and then. Instead, Red Claw flipped her onto her back with a jerk of the jaws. He went for the underbelly, stumbling away when her hind paws found his face half by practise, half by panic.

She hurried to her feet.

The sharptooth shook off the blow and exploded towards her.

He froze, jaws wide.

Cera had perfectly poised her three-foot horn to meet his mouth in the most damaging way possible. A few inches later and he would have made a grave mistake.

Red Claw backed away, tilting his head as he gave the three horned conundrum a calm, contemplative stare.

_"Aww, _what's wrong?" Cera asked in her most patronising voice. "Is the _big, bad _Red Claw_ scared _of me? _Booo hooo!"_

The sharptooth didn't react. His silence was mildly unnerving. Much to her surprise, his posture seemed to relax as he yawned. It almost looked as though he were losing interest!

Cera subconsciously slackened her muscles as she stifled a yawn of her own. Oh, great. It was contagious.

He blinked lazily, giving the sky a semi-wary glance.

She blinked as well.

The moment she opened her eyes, Red Claw was silently, ravenously, surging at her. The moment she snapped to attention, he launched into a confusing zigzag. Instead of colliding, they converged in what looked like an intricate dance. Back and forth, left and right, neither landed a blow as Red Claw strained her reflexes with incessant attempts to get by her horns.

...

Thud leapt before Littlefoot's tail snapped beneath him, the thunder crack jolting his bones and robbing his hearing for a split moment. He wasn't expecting the longneck to sharply raise his tail mid-swing, smacking the fast biter high above the ground.

Screech pounced from behind, only to find himself halted inches from contact when Littlefoot's tail snatched him from the air.

Lifting the nonplussed fast biter so that they were face to face, Littlefoot gave the predator a flat smile.

Thud slumped. Yet again, the longneck had him. He supposed he could see the sardonic humour. This time, he was sure he'd be squished.

To the fast biter's utter confusion, Littlefoot set him down with a pat to the head for good measure. Thud blinked blankly, having no frame of reference for what was happening. The longneck wasn't being friendly. He simply gave a deadpan stare as though waiting for something to happen. Hold on a minute, where was that shadow coming fro-?

Thud was beginning to look up when Screech crashed down on top of him.

Littlefoot examined his handiwork. The fast biters seemed down for the count. His job done, he rushed to Cera's aid. Scarcely had he left before Screech cut the act and climbed off of Thud. The fall might not have rendered them unconscious, but they couldn't help but groan from the soreness. Thud quietly snarled after Littlefoot.

Screech chittered, telling Thud that they should go after the others while the longneck still thought they were incapacitated.

Thud argued that he wasn't done with the longneck: not after the smart-talking mound of meat made a fool of him _twice!_

Screech hissed, insisting that Thud needed no help to make a fool of himself. If they _really _wanted to spite the longneck, they had to go for his weak spot: his _friends! _Red Claw could take care of himself.

Thud sneered at their alpha, sure not to be seen. It would be a hollow victory. The longneck wouldn't be alive long enough to see what happened to his friends.

With a malicious purr, Screech assured Thud that the longneck didn't have to see it. They could state the grisly details of their intentions at a distance.

Perking up somewhat, Thud bobbed his head in agreement. After pausing to scan the sky, the two fast biters rushed after the departed dinosaurs.

They would have to act fast, Thud warned, before The Daybreaker found them.

* * *

Petrie felt horrible.

Soaring above Ducky, Spike and Skip as they scrambled for their lives, he was in no danger whatsoever. That made him feel all the worse. He could hear the fight from there. Littlefoot and Cera were risking their necks in a battle just short of suicide. What was he doing? Fleeing through the skies like a coward.

Like Uncle Pterano.

**"Keep going! I'll be back!" **Petrie called down to the others, making a U turn.

Ducky and Spike exchanged uncertain glances.

* * *

Cera didn't even see it coming: a blow to the temple that felt as though it went straight to her brain. Her world was spinning. Her thoughts fell to shambles. Her senses muddied as the moment seemed to smudge. When the threehorn's awareness returned in a blur, she felt Red Claw's jaws on her horn, his foot on her side. She could barely move. Pushing with his foot, yanking with his teeth, he was attempting to break her. A shove of the paw did nothing to budge the jaws fixed to her horn. Maybe there wasn't anything she could do.

Maybe this was it.

Cera felt Red Claw's body jolt. At the side of her eye, she saw a rock shatter against his side. He released her, snarling at a massive shadow raging towards him.

In spite of her prone position, the threehorn grinned. "Good luck, Pink Eye. You're gonna need it."

Littlefoot spun into a palm tree, tearing it from the soil and smashing it into Red Claw's head in one, whirling motion. Cera guffawed almost goofily. **The look on the sharptooth's ****_face! _**

Being clobbered by a tree? That was a first. It was a learning experience. Red Claw learnt that he did not like it.

The longneck took another swing. Red Claw instinctively caught the tree with his jaws, disarming Littlefoot with a yank. The sharptooth made to toss it aside, but it remained fixed between his chops. His teeth were lodged deep in the wood, and the muscles responsible for opening his jaws weren't nearly as strong as his bite.

The longneck's blows landed like thunder and lightning. He wasn't quite as big as Red Claw, but large enough to stagger the giant.

Though he tottered and stumbled, Red Claw never lost his footing. He almost seemed to ignore the blows as he furiously attempted to remove the tree from his mouth.

Cera shook off her soreness as she rose to a stand. The way Littlefoot's flexible tail rained melee on Red Claw's ankles, knees, neck, skull and any opportune spot that presented itself, she was almost jealous of the longneck. _Almost. _She wouldn't trade her horns for _anything!_

Cera charged the sharptooth, ducking a flail of his tail. The tree went flying from Red Claw's jaws when Littlefoot unleashed a titanic blow. Red Claw's head swung high as he stumbled into Cera. She bellowed, throwing up her horns and slamming him in the opposite direction.

He wobbled on his feet.

Cera smirked. Any moment and he'd go down with a mighty thud. Much to her astonishment, Red Claw steadied himself, shook his head and regarded them with nonchalant annoyance.

He snorted at their surprise. These naive children took the occasional dip into The Mysterious Beyond, and they thought they knew _anything _about a real fight? He'd been through battles that would haunt their callow little sleep stories till the day they died. This was nothing. Absolutely nothing.

The leafeaters charged from opposite directions. Red Claw waited for the perfect moment. Then he whirled, slamming aside the incoming Cera with his tail while launching his jaws at Littlefoot's throat. The longneck felt spittle as the chomp rang in his ears. It fell just short as he deflected Red Claw's bite with a tail to the chin. Littlefoot grunted as Red Claw powered through the raised tail. All those years, all that training, and Littlefoot's strength felt like nothing under Red Claw's might. He drew back from another bite. This time, the jaws glanced off his throat. He looped his tail around Red Claw's neck and redirected the sharptooth's weight. The third bite missed not by much. They were too close. He could barely manoeuvre. He needed space. Littlefoot yelled as he shoved the sharptooth with his shoulder.

Red Claw budged, but barely. He spotted Cera rushing in with a bellow and sneered. The foolish child, giving away her position.

Feeling teeth, a sharp gasp was all Littlefoot could manage before his breath was cut off. With savage strength, the sharptooth hurled him into an alarmed Cera.

The leafeaters tumbled to a stop.

Cera scrambled to her feet.

Littlefoot did not stir.

_**"LITTLEFOOT!" **_she wailed.

Red Claw purred in satisfaction. The longneck wouldn't get up. Not after that. Now to deal with that odious threehorn. He'd be sure to make her end much slower. To his mild surprise, Littlefoot calmly dragged his feet beneath him. Eyes blazing, the longneck rose to a stand, rumbling a deep purr that escalated into venomous snarl before accentuating the threat with a crack of his tail.

Cera's eyes grew wide. She'd never heard Littlefoot make a noise like that.

"That sounded ... dark. What'd you say?" she asked.

Littlefoot tilted his head towards her slightly, keeping his intense gaze fixed on Red Claw. "I told him I didn't want to fight. We could all walk away, but if he kept this up, someone wasn't going home today, and the identity of that 'someone' might surprise him."

_"Yiiikess!" _Cera mouthed.

After their journey to The Great Valley, Cera viewed Littlefoot as family. As he grew into an earth-shaking warrior, she inwardly thought he was the coolest guy she knew, but this? Seeing him in action, threatening Red Claw with a sound straight out of a nightmare? She had to come up with a new category for him.

He was _beyond _cool!

The balefully gleeful cries of Screech and Thud met their ears. Dismay tainted Littlefoot's glare. In gruesome detail, the fast biters were announcing what they would do when they found the other leafeaters, and they were too far for Littlefoot and Cera to stop them.

Red Claw's lip curled in delight at the sight of Littlefoot's face. He gave a reassuring croon poisoned with malice, telling Littlefoot not to worry. He promised to keep them just alive enough to see what became of their friends. His sneer grew all the bigger as panic touched the longneck's features. Would the leafeater beg? He welcomed him to do so. It was such little pleasures that Red Claw relished so much.

Littlefoot blinked in stupefaction before asking the simple question:

Why?

Red Claw creased his brow.

When the predator only stared, Littlefoot went on: Why would a sharptooth go out of his way to do that? Needing food was one thing. Enjoying suffering was a whole different story. Even when they were young, barely even a snack, Red Claw would go out of his way to hunt them. Why would he do something like that?

The sharptooth gave a deep, contemplative hum. Now this was interesting. He had half a mind not to answer, but intriguing conversations like this were seldom. This conversation could even prove cathartic. He checked the sky. No trouble in sight. Maybe 'trouble' was otherwise occupied that day. Fine. He would indulge the longneck.

Red Claw stated that, long story short, he hated Littlefoot and his friends.

But _why, _asked littlefoot?

The sharptooth tapped his claw. Where to begin? For starters, he posed the question: What if sharpteeth had a neutral opinion of leafeaters? They would empathise with them, even spare them. Foolish sharpteeth had done so before, and even at present such fools existed. What if leafeaters didn't hate sharpteeth? They would reach out to them. Make friends with them, and the so-called 'friendly sharpteeth' would sooner starve than turn on those close to them. The Circle of Life would be broken. Hatred was a driving force of life. It was wise to hate.

Littlefoot's jaw loosened. Was that the sharptooth philosophy? It went against everything he believed in ... yet Littlefoot could see the twisted logic.

The longneck acknowledged that he understood Red Claw's point, but hatred ate out the heart from the inside, spoiling the life of its bearers and those around them. He knew what it felt like, and he'd almost missed wonderful friendships because of it. It was wiser to love. He glanced down at Cera and stated that threehorns and longnecks once hated each other, but she was his closest friend. It was only through the wisdom of friendship that they made it to The Great Valley, a herd of very dissimilar leafeaters who got over their differences. The loved each other like family, and that love had carried them through countless adventures. It was the only reason why The Great Valley worked, as opposed to descending into turf war when various herds with different needs and desires settled in it. In a strange way, they were all like family. They had even made friends with a sharptooth!

Red Claw growled, stating that he knew the sharptooth, the one who was always with them, until that day. Where was that sharptooth now?

Littlefoot glanced about as though searching for an answer.

Red Claw took a step towards them. Enough of this nonsense, he snapped! The longneck could talk till the stars fell and The Great Guardians ruled the Earth, but the fact was simple: The longneck hated the sharptooth, and vice versa.

_"'Great Guardians'?"_ Littlefoot mumbled.

"Huh?" asked Cera.

"Nothing, never mind," Littlefoot dismissed, shaking away the curiosity. He couldn't afford to go off topic.

With a step of his own towards Red Claw, Littlefoot stated that he didn't hate him. He actually thought they could be friends, if they let themselves.

The sharptooth snorted, asking how exactly that would work?

Littlefoot thought for a moment before shaking his head. He admitted that he wasn't sure, but they could figure it out. His friend, Chomper, had figured it out. It was somewhat uncharted territory, but some paths only appeared to those who looked for them. He knew Red Claw grew up without a family. Didn't he get tired of hating? Wasn't there a part of him that yearned for friends and family?

Red Claw's battle-hardened face twitched.

Much to Cera's surprise, he broke away from Littlefoot's imploring gaze. _Okay ... _She couldn't make heads or tails of most of the conversation, but whatever Littlefoot said, it almost looked like it was working!

The sharptooth's expression snapped back to severity as he shot the longneck a glare.

Cera frowned. Never mind.

Yes, Red Claw admitted, as he stalked towards the leafeaters. He had considered family, but Littlefoot and his friends had taken that away from him.

_"What?"_ gasped Littlefoot, before asking Red Claw to explain.

With a sadistic grin, Red Claw stated that he might tell the longneck, but only after he'd brought him down. He was on a bit of a schedule.

**"LEAVE MY FRIENDS **_**ALONE!" **_came a squawk from above.

The sharptooth exhaled. Another young one giving away his position before attacking? It wasn't even amusing. How had they ever slipped through his claws in the past? Foolish children.

Petrie darted in. He didn't have to fight. All he had to do was flap around Red Claw's face a bit. Close enough to draw attention, but not too close. That would buy his friends some time, right?

**_"Ooowff!" _**he exclaimed as a swift tail swatted him out of the air.

**"PETRIE!"** Littlefoot shouted.

Red Claw purred. They could watch _this_ one go _first!_

As the sharptooth's shadow fell over the flyer, Petrie opened his mouth to give a warning he had no hope of backing up. Instead of a shaky threat, everyone froze as a piercing screech seemed to come out instead.

Red Claw's eyes snapped to the skies as he roared for an unseen foe to stay away.

_"... _'The _Daybreaker' ...?" _Littlefoot muttered, tilting his head in curiosity.

"What did you say?" asked Cera.

"Red Claw roared at something he called 'the one who interrupts the flow of a sharptooth's day, and literally breaks the light of The Bright Circle': 'The Daybreaker'."

Rapt with wonder, Cera attempted to follow the sharptooth's gaze. "What could do something like that?"

The answer came pouncing from the heavens like sky fire. Everyone squinted at the silhouette framed by The Bright Circle. It was some kind of flyer. They could scarcely make out the details, scarcely even look at him. The Sun was on his heels, straining their eyes. Littlefoot was forced to turn away, noticing that even Red Claw's eyes watered as he glared up at the flyer.

**"That ... that flyers' using The Bright Circle as a weapon! To****_ blind Red Claw!" _**Littlefoot exclaimed in amazement.

Petrie's thoughts raced. Another flyer ... was attacking Red Claw? He'd never heard a flyer screech like that. It was honed to the chilling ferocity of a sharptooth's roar, with a touch of rasp that only heightened the effect. However, it sounded vaguely familiar. When the flyer gave another screech, ear-splittingly closer than the first one, it clicked.

No! It couldn't be, but it _was!_

"U-_Uncle Pterano?" _Petrie gawked.

* * *

**Yep, yep, yep, Pterano's been up to some interesting things during his banishment from The Great Valley. I really enjoyed reinventing the character into something you'd never expect ... unless of course you did XD.**

**If you follow Jurassic Park: The Unseen Element, the next chapter should be out soon. To be honest, I was having a little trouble keeping my groove with that story ... as you can plainly see. I'm still interested in it. Just a tad daunted. Sorry.**

**A special thinks to 'Eris' and 'Guest', who were so kind as to review this story. Would anyone else like to share what they think? Don't make me beg. The tumbleweeds in the review section are getting a little lonely, heh heh.**


	7. Chapter 7: The Gang's all Here

Chapter 7

The Gang's all Here

* * *

Flyers were weak.

Flyers were fragile.

Flyers didn't even _taste _good.

A flyer was _the _last thing Red Claw would accept as the foil of his hunts. The Lone Dinosaur? Now _there _was an adversary worthy of his time. At least he could enjoy their fights and savour the meal that was sure to come: good, old fashioned brawl of the mighty. He couldn't enjoy his battles with the flyer. Using trickery, speed and agility perfected for facing sharpteeth, the flyer would not even let him _touch_ him. It was never a 'fight'. It was a joke, yet this 'joke' was the thorn in Red Claw's side, the tiny needle of a bone lodged in his gums.

Such was The Daybreaker.

Petrie's beak went loose as his uncle dove towards the sharptooth with horrifying speed, using The Bright Circle's glare to blind the predator.

In the past, Red Claw had tried to avoid looking at the flyer, judging his proximity by his shadow and turning to attack at just the right moment. It never worked. Therefore, he resolved to face him head-on, blinking back the sunlight as best as possible. The Daybreaker's silhouette almost vanished as he dove just above the Sun's rays, allowing it to assault the sharptooth's eyes full force.

Snarling, Red Claw opened his jaws as the collision drew near. One of these days, the flyer would dive straight into them. One of these days, he would break every one of those twigs he called 'bones' in a foolhardy attack.

That day was not today.

Red Claw lunged. His jaws caught air. Not a moment later, that familiar, infuriating weight crashed into his side with more force than any flyer had a right to generate. First came the beak. Then the talons.

Down fell the monster.

Littlefoot's jaw dropped. That did it? **That ****_actually _****did it?**

As Pterano launched back into the sky, his voice spurred them with urgency. **"****_FLEE, _****Children! Make ****_HASTE!"_**

With quick, little nods, the young leafeaters bolted.

The sharptooth was down, but not out. His eyes filled with white hot fury as he watched the creatures he hated most slipping from his claws for the billionth time. Not. This. Time.

**Not.**

**This.**

**Time.**

* * *

Skip, Ducky and Spike dashed along the ledge of a steep, stony incline.

**"There's a shortcut just around this corner!" **Skip declared, before skidding to a stop upon seeing that 'shortcut'.

The fuzzy scrambled when Spike nearly trampled him upon catching up. The path had been completely buried in rubble, with a smattering of vegetation growing upon the rocks and soil.

"It's been a while," Skip admitted. "Musta been a landslide."

"You think we should go back and help them?" asked Ducky.

Spike didn't seem to hear her. He'd begun to scan the bushes, the shadows, even craning his neck to check his blindside.

A chill went down Ducky's spine. He was spooked, and frankly she was spooked too. Something tickled their senses, whether a twig snap or the slightest scent that touched their noses.

Skip had reacted much the same way, although no one noticed on account of his size. It would seem he had underestimated the youngsters. They had some pretty sharp instincts.

"Yep, we're not alone," he quietly confirmed.

Spike's eyes grew frantic before they seemingly locked onto Ducky. Her alarms blared as she realised he wasn't looking at her, but _beyond _her.

He opened his mouth. **"DUCKY! **_**DUUUCK!"**_

The swimmer froze. It had been years since she'd heard words take shape from that voice. The last time, it heralded panic. This time was no different. Partly by the shock, partly by the off-balancing similarity of the prompt and her name, Ducky failed to register the command before something crashed into her back and down she went. The fall hurt, but the thing that had latched on from behind?

It hurt _much _more.

Scarcely had Ducky hit the ground before Spike's tail swept over her, removing the weight from her back with a sharp impact.

Screech tumbled.

The swimmer clambered to her feet before spotting Thud creeping up on Spike.

**"BEHIND YOU!" **Ducky shrieked.

By the time Spike spun, the fast biter had attached himself to his side. He thrashed. He shook. He had no idea how to get the sharptooth off. Ducky could barely watch what was happening to her brother, but her legs carried her before she even needed to think.

Thud squawked in outrage as the swimmer grabbed him from behind, yanking him off his would-be prey. He writhed frenetically. She was bigger, but his compact muscles were hardened by countless hunts. Her muscles felt piteously squishy by comparison, but she refused to let go.

It didn't take long for Thud to kick free.

Once Ducky collected herself, she lunged at him. He easily darted back from her paws.

Frankly, Screech was surprised the swimmer wanted to grab Thud after the ferocious struggle. Brave or not, she was too slow. Next time she touched him, it would be claws first.

Screech shook off Spike's blow and stalked towards him, easily dodging a swing of the spiked tail.

The fast biters moved to either side of the leafeaters, preparing to attack from both directions.

Ducky and Spike went back to back, trying to keep both sharpteeth in view at all times.

Screech scoffed. They weren't even _doing _it right!

Relishing the moment, Screech sent Littlefoot a long-distance call, announcing that they'd found his friends, and _ohh, _the _pity _that he was not there to see what happened! He taunted the longneck for being such a good fighter, yet his friends clearly knew nothing of combat. Why hadn't he taught them a trick or two? Did he really care about them? So much for friendship. He could regret his failure to prepare them for such times for the rest of his short life ... assuming he was still alive.

* * *

Running alongside the longneck, Cera caught Littlefoot choking back a sob.

**"What's wrong? What'd they ****_say?" _**she demanded.

The longneck shook away the tears. **"Nevermind! ****_FASTER!"_**

She frowned. If anything happened to their friends, she would make it her life's mission to repay the sharpteeth.

* * *

Well, time to dig in. Screech lowered himself for a pounce and ordered Thud to do the same, though the other fast biter hesitated.

With a snarl, Screech demanded to know why Thud was ignoring his command?

Thud hissed: First off, he had no obligation to follow Screech's command. Second, he wanted to switch targets. Screech could handle the swimmer, while he would deal with the spiketail.

Screech blinked in confusion before asking since when Thud had a preference?

Ducky gulped as she stepped forward. "Thud, you remember me, don't you? _Please_ do not do this to us!"

Screech demanded to know **why that leafeater was talking as if she ****_knew _****Thud?!**

Thud snapped that it was _**nothing! **_He had no 'preference'! If Screech would just shut his mouth, they could finish the leafeaters once and for all!

The swimmer clasped her paws. _"Please, please, please, please, plea-!"_

With a splitting roar, Thud demanded that **everyone be ****_quiet!_**** The swimmer was ****_deluded _****if she thought she could bleat her way out of this after all the ****_years _****upon ****_years _****of shame the kids had put them through!**

Growling, Screech promised that they would talk about this later. For now, they would _feast!_

At the side of his eye, he glimpsed a pink streak. It shot through the air, colliding with him in a shattering kick. Screech fell, rolled to his feet and charged before he could even identify the threat. All he knew was that it was roughly his size, and his instincts demanded _immediate _fatal action!

Ducky and Spike gaped in awe as the two, speeding forms clashed in a frenzied display of melee. When tail met jaw and foot met chest in the same instant, fast runner and fast biter parted under the force of their blows.

Ruby dusted herself off, glaring down her opponent.

Screech chirped in recognition. This was the daughter of those two troublesome fast runners! They didn't interfere nearly as much as The Daybreaker, knowing their limits and actively avoiding Red Claw. However, when Screech and Thud were alone, they proved to be formidable rivals from time to time. When they fought, the fast biters never forgot it. When they ran, even Screech and Thud could scarcely keep up, and their offspring was right _here! _Screech gave a happy croon. They would finally catch those meddlesome kids, _and_ spite the fast runners by taking their daughter!

This was a wonderful day!

He snarled, drawing her attention while Thud crept up behind her. Just as the second fast biter pounced, a blue blur knocked him out of the air in that all-too familiar flying kick made famous by the fast runners.

Ruby glanced back. "Thank you, Father, thank you!"

"No problem, Ruby, no problem at all!" he replied.

Screech rolled his eyes. He may not have understood most of what they said, but he knew redundant repetition when he heard it. Fast runners made it particularly blatant on account of their habit of talking in circles. It annoyed him. A _lot. _Oh well: at least it was just the male and his half-pint daughter this time.

This was _still _a good day.

The ground shook. The fast biters darted into a bush. Moments later, Littlefoot, Cera and Petrie came into view, barrelling up the slope.

Okay, things were getting out of claw. If Red Claw would just get up there, _maybe _they could salvage the day.

**"You're **_**alive!" **_Littlefoot cried out in relief.

**"Why are you just ****_standing _****there?" **demanded Cera.

"An old landslide's blocking our shortcut," Skip explained.

**"And Screech and Thud are hiding ****_over there!"_** Ducky quickly informed them with a point.

The threehorn huffed. **_"Fine! _****I have no problem giving those sharpteeth another ****_beat down!"_**

Hunting leafeaters, it was difficult to avoid picking up the meaning of certain words. The fast biters knew what their prey called them, and they knew that 'over there', declared with a sense of urgency, generally meant that their cover was blown.

Before the leafeaters could reach them, the fast biters bolted a little way down the path.

**"HA! Look at 'em **_**go!" **_Cera laughed. "Oh wait, they're stopping and staring at us."

"I think they're just keeping a safe distance until Red Claw gets here," Littlefoot supposed.

Cera snorted, pawing at the ground like a bull. "Let 'im come."

An unfamiliar roar gave everyone pause.

Thud groaned. What now?

Chomper came sliding down an incline too steep to climb. Closer to Littlefoot's size than Cera's, he sent mild tremors through the ground when he reached the bottom.

Screech hissed in annoyance. **Oh, ****_COME ON!_** **Was ****_The Lone Dinosaur_**** himself planning to make an entrance?!**

Everyone stared. They hadn't heard Chomper roar in years. Their frayed nerves weren't taking it well. He sounded just like a real sharptooth!

Sensing their awkwardness, Chomper's ferocity melted as he fiddled with his fore claws. "Um ... Sorry, guys. Was that a bit loud?"

Littlefoot shook off the startlement. What was he thinking? Chomper _was _a 'real' sharptooth, but he was also a fantastic friend.

Cera greeted him with a soft headbutt. "Are you _kidding? _**That was ****_awesome!"_**

Littlefoot slapped a friendly tail over Chomper's shoulder. "Yeah! Great to see you, buddy!"

Chomper brightened. "You too! So, guess I missed all the action?"

Cera gave a wave of the tail. "Nah. Maybe today you'll finally get to 'save The Mysterious Beyond' from Red Claw. He should be catching up shortly."

Chomper eyed her with scrutiny. She'd said that so nonchalantly. Was she messing with him? He was beginning to grin at the joke when he spotted Screech and Thud standing at a short distance.

Then came Red Claw's livid roar.

**"You were **_**SERIOUS?" **_Chomper exclaimed.

Cera laughed. **"Yeah! This moment will live ****_forever!"_**

Pterano shot up the hill, dismay contorting his features as he spotted the youngsters simply standing there.

**"Why aren't you **_**FLEEING?!" **_he demanded.

"Landslide," most of the leafeaters answered in unison.

A displeased Screech scanned the path. At this stage, he honestly _was_ expecting The Lone Dinosaur to show up. All he saw was Red Claw raging up the hillside in one of his foulest moods yet. It was a moderate comfort.

Littlefoot quickly thought up a strategy before turning to the others. "Cera, Chomper, you and I are the first line of attack."

The threehorn pattered the ground in excitement. "It's just like in my sleep stories!"

The longneck turned to Pterano. "Mr. Flyer, I'm not really sure what I can ask of you, since I haven't seen you fight beyond the first dive."

Pterano smiled. "You will see in due time. I shall supplement your efforts on the front line, discombobulating Red Claw when opportunity avails itself."

"Discombobu- _What?" _asked Littlefoot.

"Pterano, we speak leafeater," Cera reminded with a dry look.

"It means 'confuse'," Pterano clarified. "I'll confuse Red Claw."

Littlefoot nodded before acknowledging the fast runners. "Ruby, Mr. Fast Runner, chances are Screech and Thud will try to attack Ducky and Spike, in order to divide our attention as we face Red Claw. Make sure they don't get past you."

The fast runners nodded.

"Ducky, Spike, try to stay clear. Skip, can you maybe hide somewhere?"

"You _know _I can!" Skip declared before easily scampering up the slope they had no hope of climbing and watching things play out from a comfy spot beneath a bush.

Cera tilted her head. "Huh ... I guess they're advantages to being a tiny, tickly fuzzy."

Littlefoot nodded. "Petrie, stick to the air. You're in no danger so long as you fly high enough."

The flyer frowned. "But ... I want to help!"

Littlefoot smiled, proud of his friend's courage. "I know, but the best way you can help is by staying safe."

Petrie sighed as he perched on Spike's back. "Okay ..."

**"Stay in the air, remember?"** stressed Littlefoot.

**"Oh, right! My bad!"** the flyer replied as he took off.

The conversation concluded when Red Claw's roar drowned out all else.

The tyrant had arrived.

The leafeaters got into position.

Thud squawked, drawing Red Claw's attention.

The giant glowered down at him, not appreciating the interruption.

Gesturing the leafeaters, Thud stated that they were facing a Lone Dinosaur in training, the youngest threehorn to ever survive a one-on-one fight fight with Red Claw, a meddlesome pair of fast runners, a young rogue sharptooth and The Daybreaker himself: Six formidable enemies, not counting the spiketail, swimmer and flyer. They were master hunters_,_ and master hunters always knew when to see the odds for what they were and abort a hunt!

Thud shrank to a crouch as Red Claw's gaze came down on him like a rain of flying rocks. With the most guttural, most menacing tone Thud had ever heard, Red Claw declared that this wasn't a hunt anymore. It was like the longneck said. They wouldn't all be going home that day. The fast biters could leave if they wanted to, but first they had to know this: if they _abandoned _him, if he _survived,_ he would treat them no differently from these hated enemies. There wouldn't be a nook in The Mysterious Beyond where they could hide from his wrath.

Screech and Thud exchanged glances before affirming their loyalty in stammering croaks.

As the sharpteeth conversed, the leafeaters had a discussion of their own.

"They're hesitating," Littlefoot noted. "This is the perfect time to-"

"Wait, wait, wait, I gotta say something awesome," Cera interrupted before scrunching her brow as she strained her brain for an epic statement.

Littlefoot could not believe her. **_"Cera!_** They're not gonna _wait_ for you to-!"

**"No,no,no, **_**shh!"**_she commanded. "Just gimme a sec."

The threehorn thumped her paw in annoyance. Why was it so hard to come up with a ...? _Oooh!_This was a pretty good one!

**"RED CLAW!" **the threehorn shouted.** "They call you the BIGGEST, the **_**MEANEST **_**sharptooth of them all', yet you **_**stoop down**_** to menace little kids! Return to your nest, or **_**REMEMBER**_** this day! **_**REMEMBER**_** the day The Bright Circle peered from the heavens and watched you ****_CRASH _****to your KNEES! LOOK at us! We're not ****'LITTLE **_**KIDS'**_** anymore! WE are your **_**FALL!"**_

Everyone stared at her with jaws ajar. Did that actually come out of Cera?

Red Claw gave her a dry look. Had she forgotten that her primitive grunting meant little to him? Silly child.

Cera looked up at Littlefoot. "Be a dear and translate, will ya?"

The longneck shook away the astonishment. "Um, okay."

She smiled as Littlefoot quoted her with a fluctuating roar worthy of her words.

Screech and Thud went silent. Red Claw's eyes widened before they snapped to the threehorn, narrowing. She tilted her head with a big, smug smile. He had to admit: that was a fairly decent burn for intrinsically cretinous walking meat. He appreciated that she was drawing attention to herself. In the heat of battle, it was easy to forget that he wanted to take his time with her.

_**"Hmph!" **_Cera snorted. "He seems to have trouble getting what I said through his thick skull. **Ooh! **Littlefoot, would you care to tell him that?"

The longneck quickly shook his head. "We really shouldn't make him madder than we need to."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. I think he'll understand _this!"_

Cera gave a belligerent bellow.

Red Claw's monstrous roar immediately swallowed up her voice, backed by the snarls of Screech and Thud.

Then Littlefoot joined her, compounding the sound with cracks of his tail like peels of thunder. Pterano's screech pierced the clamour. Chomper's roar came booming in. The eccentric cries of the fast runners accentuated the din. Even Spike, Ducky and Petrie, spectators though they were, contributed battle cries of their own.

Red Claw's roar no longer reigned supreme. The cacophonous fervour of nine, united voices raged against him.

* * *

_"So, basically it's a shouting match?" a younger Littlefoot once asked Doc._

_Cera gave an eyeroll. "You say that like a shouting match is such a little thing."_

_"More than that," The Lone Dinosaur explained. "Sharpteeth roar to mess with your mind: to convince you they're bigger, stronger, scarier. Roar back with unwavering confidence to tell 'em: 'I'm not afraid of you. I don't care how big you are. I don't care how strong, 'cause come what may, I. Stand. Against. You."_

_"Whoa ... so, more than a shouting match?" asked Cera._

_Doc nodded. "A good battle cry reminds you how strong you are, especially together. It can even make a sharptooth feel weaker."_

* * *

The hillside shook under the uproar.

Cera caught a trace of trepidation in Red Claw's features as he seemed to see the mighty foes before him for the first time. _This _was the perfect moment.

_**"CHARGE!" **_Cera commanded.

Footfalls thundering, wings pounding air, the six behemoths barrelled towards the sharpteeth.

Red Claw caught Screech and Thud stumbling backwards. With a sharp snarl, he spurred them to attack before storming towards the tidal wave of giants. In spite of everything, Screech and Thud wondered if they should have taken their chances and abandoned Red Claw. Maybe his wrath was the least of their worries.

Maybe none of them would survive this.

* * *

**I don't know about you guys, but that felt like writing the opening to a superhero war ... and 'The War Before Time' hasn't even begun yet! I'm rubbing my hands together, smiling like a big goof just thinking about it!**

**So, what did you think?**

**Thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8: Seeing Red

Chapter 8

Seeing Red

This just couldn't get any better.

As luck would have it, Skip had found refuge under a sweet bubble bush, rapidly plucking and popping the treats into his mouth as he watched the dinosaurs below the steep incline. He had seen countless ill-fated battles between Red Claw and hapless leafeaters. His teeth made no distinguishment between the weak and the mighty, but this? Somehow, he knew this would be different.

Skip looked up at Petrie, who was circling as he watched the conflict unfold.

"Hey, you wan' a sweet bubble?" asked the tickly fuzzy, winding up to toss a berry at Petrie.

"Huh?" asked the distracted flyer. "No thanks. I'm good."

Returning his full attention to the fight, Petrie watched as Pterano streaked ahead of the charging leafeaters, determined to face Red Claw first. At the very last second, he threw his wings forward with a sharp clap, propelling himself up and out of the sharptooth's range. Red Claw saw it coming, lunging at the evasive flyer. Pterano was too fast, but just as Red Claws' jaws scarcely fell short of his legs, he lashed out at the sharptooth's face with his talons.

Petrie almost dropped from the air as he gawked. So _that _was how Pterano had fought Red Claw for so long!

**"D-did you ****_see_**** that?!"** Petrie geeked out.

An amazed Skip slowly nodded. He had seen that, _many_ times actually. At the right time of year, one could look to the heavens and see flyers darting amid the clouds in jaw-dropping courtship rituals. Males would clash like sky fire in bouts of extraordinary agility, pecks and taloned strikes punctuated by wing claps to disorient their rivals. After defeating their competitors and winning the respect of a female, the two would dance through the skies. Diving and darting at each other, they always pulled back at the last moment as a testament of their will to never bring harm in their lifelong union. Flyers would sharpen their agility for months before engaging in these death-defying feats, but Pterano? He had taken it to a whole new level.

A forlorn sigh escaped Skip's lungs. How much action had he missed, cooped up in The Great Valley?

Scarcely had Red Claw suffered the sting of Pterano's claws before Cera crashed into him. He slid back, whirled away from her horns and counter attacked with his mighty tail. Before his swing could reach her, Littlefoot intercepted him and their tails clashed in a splitting impact. Though lacking the strength to halt Red Claw's attack, the longneck redirected the blow so that it merely whooshed above Cera's head. The sharptooth off-balanced Littlefoot with a jerk of the tail before rushing for his neck. Chomper had the same idea, pouncing Red Claw and diverting him away from the longneck.

Skip blinked in pleasant surprise before grinning. He didn't need the 'good ol' days' roughing it alone in The Mysterious Beyond. All he needed was to hang around these guys.

Red Claw's face contorted in fury at the feeling of Chomper's jaws on his throat. **The insolent **_**whelp! **_He swung Chomper between himself and Littlefoot. The longneck aborted an attack for fear of hurting his friend. **Weak! ****_All _****of them! **Red Claw kicked back a charging Cera and staggered Littlefoot with his tail before throwing himself to the ground on top of Chomper.

He purred. Surely he had crushed the pup, but a good bite would be sure to seal the deal.

Pterano swooped out of the blue. Red Claw sprang to his feet to snap at the elusive flyer, failing to notice Chomper's leg pulling back the moment he did. The youngster's kick sent Red Claw stumbling.

Chomper rolled to his feet, snarling promises that there was more where that came from.

Looking the youngster up and down, Red Claw dismissed the threat with a snort. Rippling muscles taut with aggression, Chomper would have made a formidable rival in the years to come, Red Claw thought. Too bad he wouldn't make it to adulthood.

Red Claw charged, teeth brandished. Chomper did the same, though his teeth were the least of Red Claw's worries. Not a second before collision, Chomper whirled into the air. Red Claw's mind hit a speed bump. What _was_ this? He got his answer when the youngster's foot spun into his skull. Chomper tottered on the landing before forcing his opponent back with kick after kick. Red Claw had never seen a sharptooth move like that, but it made sense in light of the powerful legs with which his kind was gifted. Fascinating. He would remember this.

Catching Chomper's ankle in his jaws, Red Claw flung aside the youngster before going in for the finisher.

Pterano's form broke The Bright Circle's light as he made a beeline for Red Claw's face. The sharptooth spun to face him, only for the flyer to make way for the blinding sunlight as he pulled back just short of pouncing range. Then another dark shape blocked The Bright Circle as it sped towards Red Claw - Littlefoot's tail. The longneck's strike landed with a crack, followed by the dull impact of Cera's horns ramming back the sharptooth. His claws tore the soil, but he never fell. The threehorn jumped back when he snapped at her.

"Ugh," Cera whined. "When's this brute gonna just _drop _already?"

Littlefoot glanced at the cliff's edge. "Great idea, Cera."

She raised an eyebrow. _"Wha-?_ I didn't-"

Littlefoot gestured the sheer drop with his eyes.

_"Ohhhh," _Cera went in realisation before grinning smugly. "Yes. A _brilliant_ idea, if I do say so myself."

Littlefoot rolled his eyes with a chuckle. What would he do without the sassy threehorn?

"We'll have to be careful about it, of course," Littlefoot warned.

"Well, o_bviously," _Cera replied.

The two barelled towards Red Claw.

...

Meanwhile, just as Littlefoot predicted, Screech and Thud had bypassed the frontline in an attempt to reach Ducky and Spike. Ruby and her father were doing their best to keep back the fast biters, but without the element of surprise, the odds had shifted.

Ruby fell when Thud's foot found her temple.

Cerulean rushed to her aid. A pounce from behind and Screech brought him down. Thud abandoned Ruby and the two fast biters combined their efforts to make sure Cerulean would never get up again.

**"FATHER! **_**NOOO!" **_Ruby shrieked as she struggled to a stand. **"NO, ****_FATHERRR!"_**

The fast biters cried out with glee. Once they'd finished her dad, she would be easy prey!

Everyone forgot about the sleepy-eyed Spike who quietly, purposefully, lumbered up to the fast biters. His almost lazy movements didn't even register, until.

***WHACK!***

**"Woo****_HOO!_**** GO, Spike! Yes, yes, ****_YES!"_**Ducky squealed as her brother's tail sent Screech and Thud flying.

The fast biters tumbled to a stop, barely beginning to shake off the hit before Littlefoot asked a question. The answer would have no effect on the outcome whatsoever.

"Hey, Screech. Mind if I borrow Thud real quick?"

His tail snatched up the startled predator, who happened to have landed conveniently close to the longneck. **Not again!**

Littlefoot hurled the fast biter into Red Claw's head. Needless to say, Thud lived up to his name. Red Claw was in no mood to be stoned with his own subordinate, forcing the shaken fast biter to scramble as his own alpha tried to stomp him.

**"HA ****_HAA! _****Throw the ****_OTHER _****one!"** Cera urged.

Screech scampered away from the giants. _Okaaay. _Best to focus on the weaker prey.

He ducked and Spike's tail swung overhead.

**"Get 'im, Spike!" **Ducky cheered.

Cerulean was back on his feet, joined by his daughter as they advanced towards the fast biter glaring all the while.

Screech made up his mind. Chances were whatever was left of Red Claw would be in no condition to punish him for disloyalty. This simply wasn't worth it!

The fast biter bolted down the path with a moderate limp, followed by a wobbly Thud.

Cerulean glowered after them. "I have half a mind to go after those two, for all the trouble they caused."

"For all the trouble they caused, I have half a mind to go after them too," Ruby agreed.

He gave her a crafty smirk. "But do you know what happens when two halves of a mind come together?"

Ruby returned the smirk. "The halves come together to make a _full_ mind!"

Last Screech checked, Thud was in even worse shape than he was. It came as a surprise when the latter outran him. What could spook Thud like that? He looked back to see Ruby and her father racing towards them. With a squawk of outrage broken by fear, Screech rushed to catch up with his hunting partner. This was wrong on every level! _They _were supposed to do the chasing! It was an affront to nature!

...

Cera ducked Red Claw's jaws before slamming them back into the air with her horns, right into Littlefoot's tail and Chomper's foot converging from both sides.

**"How's ****_that _****for 'discombobulating'? ****_WOO!" _**Cera hooted.

The language gap aside, Red Claw scarcely heard the jibe as her voice turned to mud in his muddled mind. This was the first time they'd come close to knocking him out. He felt himself begin to fall before a tail firmly wrapped around his muzzle; juvenile jaws seized him by the scruff and three horns met his haunches. Yanking and shoving, the youngsters heaved his body across the dirt.

Red Claw writhed to no avail. One rule he had followed to great effect since his childhood was to never let himself get knocked down. Not only had he fallen, but he had fallen to meat scarcely beyond childhood themselves, and they knew how to keep a sharptooth off his feet. They'd practiced, that much was certain_. _He craned his neck to see their destination: the edge of the cliff. Their plan was obvious. His eyes widened, muscles slackened.

He was afraid.

Littlefoot's resolve faltered at the sight of the frightened sharptooth.

"Hold on!" he urged.

Stopping, Cera and Chomper blinked quizzically.

Littlefoot sighed. "I don't know if we should do this."

_"Whhhyyyy?" _Cera asked slowly and cynically.

_"Look _at him!" Littlefoot urged. "He's scared and helpless, he's at his wit's end! Maybe _now _he'll be willing to make peace with us."

Cera couldn't frown harder if she tried. **"Do you have ****_ANY _****idea how hard it was to GET him into this position?! Of ****_COURSE _****you do! You were THERE! Who ****_CARES _****if he's 'scared and helpless'? I'm sure Sharptooth felt the same way when we did more or less the same thing to him!"**

Littlefoot sighed. "Just ... give me a moment to talk to him, okay?"

**"You already ****_TRIED_**** that!"**

_"Please,"_ implored the longneck.

Cera snorted. "Fine, whatever. You have two holding breaths."

Littlefoot cleared his throat before rumbling Red Claw an invitation to friendship. The fight was over. They could finish him if they wanted, but Littlefoot expressed that he had no desire to do so. Perhaps they could all go home that day after all.

Red Claw narrowed his eyes before answering in a deep growl muffled by the longneck's makeshift muzzle of a tail. So, he had two options: accept their friendship or be thrown off a cliff. Was _that _how they made friends? He sneered. They were just as tyrannical as _he_ was!

Littlefoot growled back. Who did Red Claw think he was fooling, snapped the longneck? They were _defending _themselves from an overgrown bully who made it his mission to hurt them for no good reason!

Much to Littlefoot's shock, Red Claw's eyes grew misty with bitter reminiscence. He tried and failed to blink away the moisture before quietly throbbing his response. He had a good reason. He had a _very _good reason.

Littlefoot's eyes softened as he caught a glimpse of a broken soul within the monster. After a moment's hesitation, he told Red Claw that he'd lost his mother. Sharptooth took her, and he saw it with his own eyes. He watched the final breath of life ebb from her lungs. There was a part of him that always hurt, _physically _hurt, when he thought back to that moment. For a time, he was angry yet numb, and he wanted Sharptooth to pay ... but that was his story, not Red Claw's. He couldn't pretend to know exactly what Red Claw had gone through but maybe, just maybe, they'd both been there. Maybe they could help each other get better. Red Claw didn't have to face it alone anymore.

The sharptooth stared at him long and hard before diverting his eyes to the sky in deep thought. Finally, Red Claw gurgled an answer: ... Maybe ...

Chomper's jaw hung. Was this _actually _happening?

After another pause, Red Claw shooed them with his tail. He needed a few days to cool off after a battle like this, but perhaps the next time they visited The Mysterious Beyond ... he would be willing to talk.

Littlefoot and Chomper exchanged flabbergasted glances.

"Okay, what's going on?" asked Cera.

"Red Claw told us he'll let us leave," Littlefoot translated.

"You're saying that like he had a _**choice!" **_Cera huffed.

"That's not all," added the longneck. "He's open to the possibility of being friends."

Cera gave him an odd look. _"Okaaay ..."_

Pterano frowned. "As an accomplished liar myself, I would suggest that you disregard his word entirely."

"Same," agreed Cera.

"But would we be able to live with ourselves, _knowing _that he might have been telling the truth?" Littlefoot asked. "This could change _everything! _He could defend The Mysterious Beyond instead of menacing it! He could even learn to eat crawlers and fish, just like Chomper!"

Chomper looked uncomfortable. _"Ummm ..._ It's harder to find those in The Mysterious Beyond."

"Then maybe, when the time is right, he could join us in The Great Valley!" Littlefoot argued.

Cera gave a big, fat **_"NO!"_**

Her voice echoed across the cliffs, hammering home the finality of the statement. However, as silence fell on the group, the 'what if' Littlefoot had proposed corroded their opinions.

"If he kills us, I'll headbutt you to Beyond the Mysterious Beyond," Cera threatened.

Littlefoot almost chuckled at the fundamental absurdity of that statement.

"Okay, we'll let him go and quickly back off on three," Littlefoot instructed.

Chomper and Cera nodded.

Littlefoot began the countdown. "One ... two ... three!"

They released the sharptooth, rapidly withdrawing to a hopefully safe distance. Red Claw hurried to his feet and shook himself off, casting wary glances to the youngsters who surrounded him.

"It's okay," Littlefoot assured before reiterating himself in sharptooth. They had decided to let him leave in peace, he stated. They would not go back on their word.

Red Claw snorted sceptically, but seemed to accept Littlefoot's reassurance nonetheless. He began to leave, straying a little too far into Littlefoot's personal space as he did so.

Of course they would not go back on their word, Red Claw agreed in a deep, quiet croon. He would expect nothing less from such naive, young fools.

Littlefoot's fight or flight instincts flared to the red zone. It was already too late. The sharptooth rammed his massive skull into the longneck's head. Ears ringing, Littlefoot's world seemed to tilt as he went crashing to the ground.

Cera and Chomper charged. A savage tail to the head and Chomper collapsed into Cera, out cold. The monster rushed in, jaws spread to finish Chomper. Without a second to weaponise The Bright Circle's light, Pterano rushed to stop the tyrant.

Red Claw saw him coming and almost purred. Perfect.

Scarcely even turning to acknowledge the flyer, he swatted Pterano over the cliff's edge with his tail. **Finally! He'd struck down ****_The Daybreaker!_**

**_"UNCLE!" _**Petrie squawked as he dove after Pterano.

Cera had barely managed to yank her head from under Chomper before she felt massive jaws on her tail. With devastating strength, Red Claw hurled her into the incline at the path's edge. The impact shook loose soil and boulders that buried the threehorn.

It all happened so fast.

A panicked Littlefoot scrambled to get up, until Red Claw planted a heavy foot on his side.

Spike moved in and swung his tail. Red Claw caught it in his jaws and tossed him away. Ducky threw herself into the tyrant, shoving and hitting, even attempting to scratch with her nubby nails. Annoying as it was, he decided to leave her be. She was neither big, strong, nor skilled enough to make him budge.

The sharptooth leaned in close, relishing the scent of the longneck's fear pheromones.

Littlefoot stuttered. _But ... but ..._

But _**what, **_spat Red Claw? Did the longneck _**honestly **_think that sharing a mawkish story about his mother would bring them any closer to being friends? Longnecks were red food! It was their _destiny _to be devoured, and Red Claw deeply hoped that his father had savoured the leafeater's mother as much as he would savour her offspring!

The revelation hit Littlefoot's mind like ice. Sharptooth ... was Red Claw's _dad?_

Red Claw grunted in annoyance. It would seem he had overwhelmed the longneck's feeble little brain, and not in a fun way. Very well. Perhaps _this _would kick start the leafeater's mind. Red Claw growled that he could shove them off the cliff as they did with his father, but he had something much more wonderful in mind. He would break them so that running and fighting became impossible. Then he would drag the helpless leafeaters to his cave and gradually nibble them over the next few days. They would be alive enough to watch and feel it happen. His only regret was that the longneck's mother wasn't there to join the feast.

The ice in Littlefoot's mind melted as his heart set on fire.

Red Claw grunted, pleased at the sight of Littlefoot's livid face. Next would come some big, bratty scream of outrage and futile thrashing, no doubt. Leafeaters were so predictable. However, Littlefoot's response was somewhat more ... methodical.

The longneck's tail shot up and hooked Red Claw's head. Then came the scream, accompanied by a sharp yank as he launched a ferocious headbutt to the monster's neck. Pain split through Littlefoot's skull. Ordinarily, that meant he'd gotten the technique wrong. He hadn't. It was simply a matter of force: more force than he'd used in his entire life. If it hurt him, Red Claw had to be swimming in agony.

The sharptooth had no intention of backing down, but pain was a persuasive negotiator, and he hadn't felt pain like this in a long time.

Another crippling headbutt from Littlefoot and Red Claw winced off of the longneck with eyes squeezed shut.

Littlefoot raged to his feet, fuming. Never had gnashed flat teeth looked so menacing. His mind went to work and he quickly spotted a sizeable fault line along a small section of the cliff's edge.

Despite the neck trauma, Red Claw managed to throb in satisfaction. The longneck had offered friendship, and nearly died for it. Now he hated Red Claw, and it bought him a few extra moments of battle! So much for kindness! So much for love! They weren't that different after all!

Littlefoot wasn't listening anymore. He was done talking.

With a spine-chilling battle cry born from years of learning to sound like a sharptooth, the longneck thundered into Red Claw like a hurricane.

* * *

**I hope that wasn't a tad too intense for a K+ story. What do you think?**

**Strangely enough, I've written for villains before, but writing from Red Claw's perspective might be the first time it has actually disturbed me a bit.**

**You might recognise Littlefoot's attempt to reach Red Claw as being influenced by Batman's attempt to reach Joker.**

**Thanks for reading! **


	9. Chapter 9: Roaring Sky

Chapter 9

Roaring Sky

* * *

The wind tore past Petrie's face as he dove after Pterano, his uncle's unconscious body unceremoniously plummeting down the cliff side. At least, Petrie hoped he was 'unconscious'. It was the better of two grave scenarios, but what difference would it make if the flyer struck the jagged wall sloping closer as he fell?

Catching up to his uncle, Petrie threw forward his feet, grabbed and yanked him away from a nasty collision. His grip slipped. Once again, gravity claimed Pterano. The ground was closing in fast.

**_"UNCLE!" _**Petrie shouted at the top of his lungs.

That word hit Pterano like a jolt of sky fire.

His eyes flashed open. He cast his wings, catching the wind. Not a moment from impact, Pterano skimmed above the ground with a cloud of dust in his wake. With a mighty flap, he blasted back up the cliff with ravenous speed Petrie could not hope to match.

* * *

Spike got to work shoving the rocks off a dazed Cera while Ducky frantically shook Chomper.

**"You need to wake up, Chomper! You ****_do,_**** you ****_do!" _**Ducky urged.

Maybe he'd received one shake too many, or maybe it was the thunderous din in the background. Maybe both. Either way, something set off the young sharptooth's attack instinct. He roared to life, nearly biting off Ducky's head in his panic.

**"S-SORRY! I overreacted! **Sorry ..." Chomper petered out as he shook his head, only to make the mind-spinning headache courtesy of Red Claw even worse.

"It's ... okay," assured a stunned Ducky, who was pretty sure her heart stopped beating for the shortest of moments.

Chomper briefly frowned at the ground before changing the subject. "We should ... we should find cover, before that storm catches us."

Ducky shook her head. "That's not a storm."

Chomper glanced at the tame, white clouds in the sky. "Huh? But the thunder ...?"

"That's Littlefoot," she explained.

The sharptooth hardly had a moment to digest that before a massive form hurtled towards him.

**"LOOK OUT!" **he shouted.

Comper grabbed Ducky with his tail and yanked her out of the giant's shadow as it came crashing down in their place. The creature was familiar, but the fury on his face? The snarl on his lips? Those were as alien as they came. Raging to his feet, the dinosaur practically threw himself into Red Claw.

"L ... _Littlefoot?" _Chomper asked in astonishment.

The longneck swept a wave of dust into Red Claw's face. The tyrant jumped back. Littlefoot emerged from the cloud tail first. Never had his friends seen him lash out with such ferocity. Never had Red Claw faced such a coordinated explosion of rage.

"... 'Roaring Sky' ..." muttered Chomper.

"What?" Ducky asked.

"It's _**'Roaring Sky'!"**_ Chomper repeated with escalating excitement. "Doc says it's when a longneck goes all out! It's like they _become _a storm: thunder, sky fire, _everything!_ It's like they turn into a _roaring sky!"_

Ducky creased her brow. "But ... longnecks are not 'stormy'. I've never seen one get _that _angry."

Chomper nodded enthusiastically. "I _know! _Roaring Sky is The Lone Dinosaur's thing! He's never seen another longneck do it. Maybe _no one_ has, until **now!"**

Ducky slowly nodded as she watched Littlefoot unleash his wrath. "We should ... probably stay out of his way for now."

Chomper laughed. "Yeah, probably. Let's dig out Cera in the meantime."

Red Claw fought back, lunging and pounding with his tail. Littlefoot moved like the wind, evading bites, absorbing body blows and parrying Red Claw tail against tail. As frustrating as it was, Red Claw reminded himself that the longneck was merely flesh and bone, and much more fragile flesh and bone than the sharptooth. Red Claw could weather the storm as long as he needed to. Littlefoot was pushing way past his limit. By the time his adrenaline dwindled to nothing, he would be broken. It wasn't a fact so much as a challenge Red Claw imposed upon himself. Before the longneck's muscles turned to pulp, he wanted the pleasure of crushing his bones to dust.

Their tails collided head on. The resultant shockwave left everyone wincing or squeezing their paws to their ears.

Red Claw was actually impressed. The longneck had poured every ounce of his strength into that attack, stopping Red Claw's more powerful tail cold. However, over-committing to such an effort had left him unbalanced. It was the perfect opportunity to surge past his defences.

The tyrant batted the longneck's tail to the ground and pinned it with a foot. Littlefoot's fury flared when Red Claw's jaws reached the base of his neck and he threw himself about in an attempt to break free.

Noticing Littlefoot's plight, Chomper rushed in with a snarl.

Red Claw growled through his teeth, warning the younger sharptooth to calm down. He meant what he said. He wasn't ready to finish the leafeater. This was merely a 'sleeper bite'. The longneck would wake up in his cave by nightfall. _Then _the feast would begin, but if the youngster _dared _interfere, he would snap the longneck like a tree.

Chomper reluctantly backed off.

Littlefoot thrashed all the harder.

Red Claw grunted a chuckle. Now, now, this wasn't getting them anywhere, he stated. Would it help if he sang the longneck a sharptooth lullaby? That was worth a shot, right? Which one, which one ...? Ah! This was a lovely choice! His mother had sung it to him when he was a hatchling. It had been passed down from generation to generation within The Hunter's Bond ... oh, the longneck didn't know about 'The Hunter's Bond', did he? Perhaps Red Claw would tell him all about it when they'd reached his cave. It was quite fascinating, a jewel of a secret among sharpteeth. Could he trust the young longneck to keep it between them? Of _course _he could! The deceased never told secrets!

**"SHUT U-!" **Littlefoot's voice broke when Red Claw squeezed a little harder.

The sharptooth throbbed, commenting that he understood the longneck was under pressure. That made it easy to slip back into his primitive language. Red Claw reminded him that the leafeater tongue was pure gibberish to a sharptooth. Besides, the sharptooth language was much faster in a pinch. On second thought, the longneck didn't need to talk at all. He could simply relax and listen.

A chill rippled down Littlefoot's spine as Red Claw launched into the lullaby. The sharptooth language wasn't merely faster. It was more descriptive and soul-piercingly emotive. The lullaby featured a predator's delight, which equated to the opposite from the perspective of prey. For a young sharptooth, it might have been palpably beautiful. For Littlefoot, it was palpable, but beautiful? Anything but. It was the very essence of a nightmare.

The longneck managed to yank his tail from Red Claw's foot, whipping it towards the tyrant. Red Claw jerked evasively and the tip narrowly missed his eye. He'd sacrificed a good grip in favour of that move. Before he could reestablish a firm bite, Littlefoot had twisted his neck nigh it's limits of flexibility and clamped his jaws around Red Claw in much the same manner.

The sharptooth's eyes fluttered in surprise before he rumbled a chuckle. This youngster was attempting to bring him down with a bite? His flat teeth were _nothing_ against stone scales! His jaws weren't even strong enough for a 'sleeper bite'!

Red Claw's new position made leveraging another tail strike difficult, but Littlefoot had other plans. He wrapped his tail around the sharptooth and constricted like a slithering sharptooth. Red Claw's instincts shrieked danger. Tail and jaws working in tandem, the longneck had created a sleeper grip of his own. Red Claw had to end this, **now.** Try as he may, he couldn't get in position for a better bite. His vision blurred as asphyxiation began to set in. Fear flashed through his psyche.

With every ounce of strength he could muster, Red Claw kicked off the leafeater and both fighters collapsed, gulping air.

Chomper smiled. Littlefoot was something else.

Stumbling to his feet, Red Claw rumbled a ragged growl. This longneck had _**humiliated**_ him for the last time! No more games, no more sleeper bites! He had to finish this there and then!

Littlefoot was slower to rise than the sharptooth. Roaring Sky had all but obliterated his stamina, leaving sore muscles like he'd never had in his life. He wasn't halfway to his feet when he felt Red Claw surging towards him as much as he saw it. The wrath of a fire mountain was in the monster's eyes, in his every movement, propelling him forth with unmistakable intent to end Littlefoot in one fell swoop.

The moment seemed to dilate as the longneck's brain grappled for an escape. He glanced at his friends. Ducky and Spike watched, mouths agape with aghast gasps. Chomper charged to his rescue, with a freshly recovered Cera on his heels.

They were too far.

**_"RED CLAAAAW!"_**screeched an incensed voice.

Pterano had shot up from the cliff's edge, eyes blazing as he streaked in like lightning.

The tyrant didn't blink, every iota of his being fixed on Littlefoot. Fast as the flyer was, intuition told Littlefoot that he was too slow. Just a _tad _too slow. Icy terror crashed against his fiery will, waging war for the domination of his imagination.

This was it.

No.

He would never grow old. He would never see his friends again.

**No.**

Red Claw would finish him, then end his friends. There was no stopping Red Claw. They never stood a-

**_NO!_**

The terror shattered as Littlefoot's fighting spirit returned with a vengeance. A new scenario broke into his imagination, opening up possibilities where he initially saw none. He found himself cracking a grin.

This wasn't the end.

Not yet. Everything was riding on the moments that followed, and those moments would come.

Then would be the end, but not the end Red Claw envisioned.

It was all falling into place. Littlefoot and his friends would fight as one: One more push, one more synergistic explosion.

One.

More.

Stand.

* * *

**You heard the man ... err, teenager ... creature ... the multi-chapter battle thunders to a titanic end. I hope I managed to keep up the hype. What do you think?**

**Thanks for reading.**


	10. Chapter 10: Petrie's Hero

Chapter 10

Petrie's Hero

* * *

Sharpteeth were a superstitious lot.

Etched in the fledgling legends of their most recent history was The Daybreaker: a wrathful wraith who haunted the hunts of the fiercest. He was far too fast, far too cunning, far too omniscient to be a flyer of flesh and blood. In their minds, he was nothing short of a curse. What they didn't know was that The Daybreaker Curse was multi-faceted.

There once was a flyer known as Pterano, all but forgotten by those so unfortunate as to know him. By his fault, an entire herd met their end at the jaws of sharpteeth. By his fault, five children nearly died in his pursuit of alleged power bestowed by The Stone of Cold Fire. Banished to The Mysterious Beyond, shunned by all, his only companion was guilt, smothering guilt, and there was no height great enough, no land far enough for him to soar to and therefore escape the weight of his actions. One day, the sight of a sharptooth pounding after prey caught his eye from the skies. At once, all the talons tearing at his conscience focused on a new victim. He plunged from the heavens, scarcely slowing as the ground grew near. All the sharptooth saw was a silhouette pounce from The Bright Circle, screeching a cry with no context except the darkest of nightmares. Talons met scales. The sharptooth fell. Without even looking back, the predator scrambled to his feet and raced for the hills. Before the leafeaters could breathe their thanks, the flyer had shot back into the sky. He didn't deserve their praise. He didn't want it. He was no hero. The splitting pain in his leg, now limp after the impact? _That _he deserved, yet he scarcely took heed of it except to think up the best ways of attacking while his bone healed. Attack he did, again and again and again, using his spare hours to do little aside patrol for sharpteeth and hone and improve agility-based combat usually reserved for courtship. In his mind, there was no family to return to, no one to miss him, nothing to lose.

There was only his penance, and come what may he would fulfil that penance 'till the day he died.

As word spread among the sharpteeth, there were times when the mere sight of him was enough to send them packing. However, there were other times ... times when he was too slow ... times when sharpteeth accelerated their hunts, hoping to deprive him of any reason to fight ... times when he could only watch ... and rewatch ... and rewatch as his failures peppered his nightmares.

Today was different.

Today Petrie, the only one with a slither of esteem for Pterano, had wandered into The Mysterious Beyond. Today, all his friends were with him, and Red Claw was about to initiate the final stages of a hunt. Today, his nephew alone would survive to witness his failure.

Nonetheless, he screeched in the face of fate.

_**"RED CLAAAAW!" **_Pterano raged. **_"NO ONE _****DIES TODAY!"**

* * *

The longneck was smiling.

Red Claw's fury dialled to eleven. There was _**nothing **_to smile about! No ploy, no hope, no escape. After years of evading his teeth, the longneck and his annoying little friends would get what they deserved!

One would have thought Red Claw understood The Daybreaker's declaration, because his roar was the exact antithesis:

**_EVERYONE _****WOULD PERISH THAT DAY!**

* * *

Perhaps it was the adrenaline. Perhaps he'd cracked under the stress. Either way, Littlefoot's mind was in a peculiar zone of calm and absolute intensity. It was like the eye of the storm that was Roaring Sky: a fleeting reprieve before the elements burst forth once more. He wasn't scared. He wasn't angry, but he had come to an unshakable decision.

Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike, Chomper, Skip, Pterano:

They would _**all**_ live that day!

Well, maybe all except two ...

* * *

Instead of continuing to rise, Littlefoot dropped into a sideways roll just as the sharptooth's jaws snapped at his head.

Red Claw kept coming. **_Nothing_**** would stop him from having his prey! ****_NOTHI-!_**

His head jerked up as the longneck's tail met his chin mid-roll, allowing him to glimpse The Daybreaker's speedily approaching silhouette for the briefest of moments.

Then pain raced across his face.

Half his vision went black.

The Daybreaker had passed, his talons leaving their mark.

Red Claw unleashed a livid roar before the air blasted from his chest as Cera rammed him. His claws raked earth as she pushed him backwards. The tyrant was lunging down for a bite when Chomper's teeth seized him from the side and yanked him away. Jaws and horns worked in tandem as Cera and Chomper hurled Red Claw closer to the cliff's edge.

Perfect.

Littlefoot sped to his feet and charged just as Red Claw knocked aside Cera and flung Chomper with his jaws. The tyrant was bracing to meet the incoming Littlefoot when Pterano struck again. This time, Red Claw managed to jerk away, but the attack had nicked him, leaving his one good eye watering profusely. Through the tears, Red Claw could make out the longneck's tail blazing towards him.

Cracks of thunder pounded the air as Littlefoot unleashed melee, forcing the sharptooth past the ledge's fault line.

Red Claw snapped about wildly until, half by chance, he managed to catch the tail in his teeth. He rolled much like a belly dragger, hoping to break the longneck's weapon.

Littlefoot wilfully rolled with him, nullifying the effort.

Both fighters sprang to their feet and Littlefoot immediately threw a headbutt before crashing into the tyrant with all his might.

Red Claw wouldn't let go. Wouldn't even budge. Thrashing and twisting, he was determined to deprive Littlefoot of his tail.

***FOOM!* *FOOM!***

**What was that ****_crazy _****Longeck up to?!**

Red Claw's blurred vision yielded just enough of the answer to see Littlefoot pounding away at the ground. The tyrant was at a loss until he felt loud cracks ripping the rock under his feet.

**The longneck was destroying their footing!**

Before much could be done, the chunk of earth on which the giants stood began to tear away from the cliff.

Littlefoot tried to twist free. Chomper latched on with his jaws and tugged the longneck as best he could.

Red Claw held fast, yanking with all his might. **They would go down ****_TOGETHER!_**

Cera's bellow defied him.

Red Claw sensed someone racing onto the collapsing ground. Who would be insane enough to join them?! A mass of amber filled his vision before he made out horns and enraged emerald eyes rearing towards him.

The tyrant's jaws jarred loose as Cera dealt his skull the most savage headbutt she had loosed to date.

Cera's face lit up as she watched a liberated Littlefoot lurch to safety. Then her smile fell ... as did she. The ground had completely broken free of the cliff. Her mind raced as gravity's greedy claws dragged her and Red Claw to their doom. Part of her always figured she would meet her end some day in a gloriously epic way. Apparently, that day had come.

But she wasn't ready yet.

Uncharacteristic thoughts crept in. What would happen when she hit the ground? Would things go black for good? Would she simply cease to be, or would something terrifyingly mysterious follow? Perhaps she should have dedicated more of her life to finding out: Asked someone, anyone, until she was absolutely certain that the answer had availed itself.

Cera had no idea Who she was talking to, but she mouthed her desire nonetheless: _"Please _... I'm not ... ready yet."

Not a moment later, Pterano's feet clamped around her crest and his mighty wings wrestled with gravity.

She stared up at him incredulously. He had to be one third her size, maybe less! She'd barely fallen a few feet, scarcely begun to accelerate, but there was _no _way he could-!

Much to Cera's amazement, Red Claw continued to fall.

She didn't.

Still flying up the cliff's side, a gawking Petrie barely paid attention to Red Claw plummeting by as he watched Pterano halt Cera's fall, flapping furiously.

With a broken squawk, Pterano pooled every ounce of his strength into heaving Cera back to the edge. It wasn't enough, but Littlefoot managed to hook his tail under Cera and yank her the rest of the way.

The threehorn was dragged a safe distance from the edge before Littlefoot released her.

A brief lull fell upon them all as Cera lay petrified, mind spinning.

"You okay?" asked a panting Littlefoot.

"Um ... I ... I, uh ..." Cera gulped. "I'm fine."

He threw his tail around her in elation, realising how half-baked an idea it was when the soreness hit hard.

"Okay, _ow," _the longneck exclaimed.

Petrie was just in time to join Chomper, Ducky and Spike as they hurled themselves onto the two in a group hug ... or was it a dogpile? After all they'd been through, a dogpile was much more cathartic.

Littlefoot repressed what would have surely come out as an unbecomingly high-pitched squeal of pain. Then a steadily growing giggle effervesced from the heap of dinosaurs.

The boys exchanged confused glances before looking at Ducky.

"That's not me," she stated.

"Well, that can't be _Cera!"_ Chomper declared. "Cera doesn't giggle, and if she giggled, it _definitely _wouldn't sound like that!"

Suddenly, Cera burst from the heap of friends and pranced about in a happy dance.

**"That. Was. **_**EPIC!" **_she laughed. **"WOO!** You guys were **_awesome! _**** I'm gonna tell my ****_grandkids _****about this!"**

Pterano perched nearby, the growing warmth in his chest bringing a rare smile to his face. Everyone lived.

A series of dull thuds followed by a boom met their ears.

Cera raced to the edge with the others in tow.

There lay Red Claw at the foot of the precipice, motionless. Moments passed before he surged to life, snarling and snapping as though his mind were still stuck in the action.

Cera blinked in surprise. "He _survived?"_

Littlefoot exhaled. "I'm not surprised. He's Sharptooth's son."

Her eyes snapped to him. _**"Sharptooth?**_As in _**THE**_Sharptooth?"

Red Claw's roar interrupted them. Did they think that was it, he demanded? Did they think they could come to _**his**_ territory, make a fool of_** him**_ and retreat to their safe, little valley? He told them to look around, remember all as it was, and _**despair!**_In precious few years, their world would crumble! It would crumble in ways they could never imagine! When the stars fell and The Great Valley's walls came crashing down on their heads, all The Mysterious Beyond would march forth to partake of The Great Feast! He would _**personally **_lead the charge, and there was no_** plan,**_ no _**power,**_ no _**place**_ on the face of the land that could _**possibly**_ save them from his-!

The tyrant was cut short by an incredibly obnoxious noise that seemed to go on forever.

All eyes fell on Cera. With tongue outstretched, she continued to let loose the loudest raspberry they had ever heard, and the cliff acoustics were _perfect! _Once done, she smiled down at the sharptooth, whose jaw hung in flabbergasted outrage. She could vaguely make out his chin quivering as he tried to retort, but no sound came out.

With a snort, Cera turned and kicked some dirt over the edge as though Red Claw were an unmentionable better buried than exposed to the world.

Skip's hysterical laugh rang out nearby.

**"C'm****_on!_****"** she called, running ahead of the others. "Let's get outta here before he thinks up a good comeback!"

Sure enough, Red Claw's roars and snarls erupted from the bottom of the cliff, but Littlefoot couldn't make out a thing he said.

Chomper caught the longneck's clueless expression and shook his head. "No, Red Claw's not actually saying anything. He's just so angry that it's all coming out gibberish."

Cera keeled over in laughter.

* * *

The threehorn gushed on about the battle as they travelled home, leaving few chances for anyone to get in a word edgewise. Well, except Skip, who could be a second-to-none motor mouth when he felt like it.

Above them, Pterano circled, scanning for sharpteeth. Petrie did the same, although he wasn't scanning the landscape so much as he was scanning Pterano. He almost wouldn't have recognised his uncle. Never had Petrie seen such lean but powerful muscles on a flyer, even if some of the bones beneath them appeared to have been broken, never again to heal quite the same way. Though his body was weathered by countless battles, Pterano's eyes were sharp and alert as though his mind were perpetually perched on the edge of combat. His smooth voice had grown rather ragged from constant battle cries, not that Petrie had heard much of it since their reunion. The Pterano Petrie knew would have been all talk about the many heroic feats he was sure to have lived. This Pterano hadn't said a word since the fight. Petrie sensed that the old Pterano was broken, perhaps even dead. Part of Petrie mourned him. Another part admired his uncle more than ever.

This Pterano was better. Somehow broken, somehow better.

Petrie flinched as Pterano's piercing gaze flicked to him.

"It's best we circle at a distance," Pterano suggested. "That way, our eyes can cover more ground."

Petrie's heart fell. "You ... don't want to be near me?"

"Oh, no, no! It's not that at all!" Pterano insisted. "On the contrary, I don't think I'm the kind of flyer to whom you should be near."

"But ... but Uncle ..." Petrie protested.

Pterano looked him up and down, a proud, crooked smile lifting his beak. "My boy, you have grown _marvelously!_ Brave, noble, every bit the looker I was in my day!"

Petrie blinked as his heart swelled with the affirmation achievable by few but a father.

Pterano's smile fell a smidgen as he averted his gaze. _"Please, _believe me when I say you don't need me around to botch up the life of a fine young flyer."

A flustered Petrie stuttered a reply. "B ... b-but ... you-!"

**"Hey, Daybreaker!" **Cera called from below.** "I forgot to thank you! You were ****_awesome _****back there!"**

Pterano's eyelids fluttered in perplexity before he projected down to her. **_"'Daybreaker'? _****Why do you refer to me as such?"**

**"'Cause Littlefoot says that's what Red Claw called you!" **she replied. **"Chomper taught him to speak sharptooth! You're, like, a ****_legend! _****Even ****_Red Claw_**** seems to think that!"**

Pterano raised an eyebrow, more surprised by her praise than his apparent status as a legend.

"I never thought her to be the complementing type," Pterano remarked.

"Um, yeah," Petrie agreed. "She's changed a bit over the years ... same as you, but not as much."

Pterano declined to reply.

"If _Cera _thinks you're great, trust me: you're great," Petrie assured.

"Hm," Pterano grunted indifferently. "She, Littlefoot and ... um ... the friendly sharptooth whom I don't recall meeting."

"Chomper."

"Ah, Chomper. They all seem to have acquired proficient combat capabilities. Who trained them?"

"Doc, also known as 'The Lone Dinosaur'. Mr. Thicknose too," Petrie added. "As a sharptooth, their training doesn't work perfectly for Chomper, but he just picks up fighting skills by sparring with them anyway. He's talented like that."

Pterano furrowed his brow in fascination. "'The _Lone Dinosaur'?_ I thought him to be a myth."

"You mean like a flyer who fights sharpteeth?" smirked Petrie.

The older flyer nodded. "A valid point."

"Littlefoot, Cera and Chomper did all the work," Petrie stated. "Ducky, Spike and I could only watch."

"That Littlefoot is wise beyond his years," commented Pterano. "You were wise to follow his advice. If he, Cera and Chomper can match might and wits against Red Claw, few sharpteeth will stand a chance against them once they have reached adulthood."

"But we're _not _fully grown!" Petrie argued. "We almost _died _today! If not for you-!"

"I would recommend staying in the valley until your Times of Great Growing end," Pterano interrupted.

Petrie frowned. Pterano seemed to be preempting him. Nonetheless, he pressed to the point.

"Speaking of 'times', your banishment ended not too long ago," Petrie noted. "You could come back to The Great Valley!"

"True, although my niche lies in The Mysterious Beyond," countered Pterano.

Petrie didn't know what a 'niche' was, but it didn't matter. "After today, I think the rest of us need training."

"Hm," Pterano grunted again.

"I think _**I **_need training."

No reply.

"What I'm trying to say is could you-?"

"Well, I best be off," Pterano interrupted. "The valley isn't far. Keep watch for sharpteeth on behalf of your friends. Safe travels. Ta ta."

With that, Pterano winged away.

**"Oh ****_no_**** you don't!" **Petrie yelled as he gave chase. **"Guys! Keep going! I'll meet you in the valley!"**

"Um ... **okay!" **Littlefoot called. **"Just don't land anywhere unless you know it's safe!"**

Ordinarily, the longneck might have stared after Petrie a bit longer, but he almost immediately sank into deep thought.

**"I'm gonna tell my kids and grandkids about today over and over 'til they're****_ sick _****of it!" **Cera gushed on.

**"I'm gonna tell ****_anyone_**** who would care to listen!"** added Skip. **"Never seen nothin' like it!"**

**"And I hit the guy so hard, my head's still ****_throbbing!"_**the threehorn exclaimed.

**"So hard, a piece of o' horn broke off too!"** commented Skip.

"It _did?" _Cera looked up at it. **_"Cool! _****When someone asks **'What happened to your horn?'** I'll just _casually_ tell 'em **'Oh, I lost a piece fighting Red Claw'! I mean, it'll grow back, but you gotta milk the _**bragging rights**_ while you can, amIright? Hey, you think the mark I left will scar over red like that old wound on the other side of his head?"

"I have good reason to believe it _**will!"**_ Skip confirmed.

Cera giggled giddily.

Littlefoot responded with a distracted smile. They'd won the battle. That was cause for celebration and a fair share of geeking out, but still ...

"But still _**what?" **_barked Cera.

Littlefoot knit his brow at the unexpected intrusion into his thoughts. Cera knew him too well.

The longneck sighed. "I'm ... not sure if I feel like we won this."

Everyone stared. One could practically hear the white noise running through Cera's head as she went silent for the first time in half an hour.

"Red Claw believes things like friendship and love are inferior to hate," Littlefoot went on. "I _tried _to reach out to him. I _tried _to prove otherwise, but then I got so mad at him that it's like I proved his point! I mean, I don't _hate _him. At least, I don't _think _I hate him. It just bugs me that I had to be a little more like him in order to beat him- **Ow!"**

Cera had ended his little monologue with a headbutt bordering on none-too-gentle.

"Don't you _**get **_it?" she snapped with a touch of softness. _**"He **_lost! You did _**everything **_to make friends with him! You even put yourself at a disadvantage, and we _**still **_took him down! After whatever he told you about hate and stuff, _**he **_ended up sore and sorry at the bottom of the cliff while _**we ..." **_She glanced up at her broken horn and shrugged. "... made it out almost completely in one piece. Read my lips: **Red. Claw. Is. The. ****_Only. _****Loser. **You did a _**wonderful **_job, nobody died, and there is **_nothing _**to regret!"

Littlefoot blinked down at the frowning Cera before a smile spread across his face. Once again, he wrapped his tail around her and leaned against the threehorn in a thanks to which words did no justice. His tail still hurt, but it was totally worth it.

Cera stiffened, allowing it for a few moments before speaking up. "Okay, okay. I think that's enough mush for one day."

Once again, everyone piled on. This time, the group hug was much more gentle, although Cera had her misgivings. She sighed and let it be.

Skip smiled at the sight, but he gave a hard pass on joining in. A, he wasn't sure if he knew them well enough. B, getting squished amid a heap of dinosaurs hundreds of times his size didn't appeal to him.

Suddenly, Spike's head jerked up as he sniffed loudly, noticing tree sweets dangling from a branch not far above. He proceeded to climb the mound of friends in an effort to reach it.

_Now_ Cera had a good reason to break the moment. **"Spike! Get ****_off!_**** That's ****_not_**** the purpose of this overly affectionate display!"**

**"We're all still sore, we ****_are, _****we ****_are!" _**Ducky emphasised.

Having already chowed down on a mouthful, Spike swallowed as he remorsefully stepped off of his friends.

"Sss ... Sspike is ... sorree ..." the spiketail apologised with some effort.

Everyone's jaw dropped.

"Uhh ... didn't that guy used to not talk?" asked Skip.

* * *

Petrie raced after Pterano, pouring all his effort into keeping up with what his uncle made look like a casual speed. Though Pterano was trying to out-fly him, he clearly wasn't trying his hardest. Why was that?

The answer became evident when Pterano swooped into the wall of trees marking the edge of a smallish jungle. Petrie was forced to pull back, though he caught sight of his uncle skilfully maneuvering through the green until it completely hid him from sight.

Petrie geeked out all the more. As he grew bigger, there was one rule his mother insisted upon when it came to flying in densely packed foliage: namely _not to._ It was too dangerous, impossible for a flyer their size to navigate, yet there Pterano was,_ making it look easy! _There was no question about it.

Pterano _had _to train him!

Winging above the jungle, Petrie's sharp eyes combed the trees for signs of his uncle. Nothing. The smokescreen of green was impenetrable.

**"C'mon, Petrie! ** _**Think!" **_he urged himself.

Pterano had to emerge sometime, but the jungle, 'smallish' though it was, stretched far enough to make covering all exit points impossible for even a flock of flyers. Would Pterano fly the whole length of it? Possibly ... but probably not. Skilled as he was, dodging through thick vegetation _had _to be difficult. He likely wouldn't do it any longer than he needed to, which meant he would find the fastest, sneakiest means of exit, but how would Pterano have any idea where he was going with nothing but leaves and wood as far as he could see?

The steady song of rushing water met Petrie's ears. He absentmindedly noted that he couldn't see any water. Could it be hidden by the trees? Maybe ... but, it sounded too big to escape his notice. A waterfall, perhaps?

An idea sparked in Petrie's head. A waterfall meant a drop. He couldn't _see _the drop, but he could hear it. Pterano no doubt heard it too. His uncle could simply follow the noise, swoop down the waterfall and Petrie would never lay eyes on him. It was _brilliant!_

But not brilliant enough.

Petrie rushed to the source of the sound. Sure enough, he was just in time to see Pterano diving beside the waterfall at the jungle's edge.

**"I SEE YOU!" **Petrie called. **"PLEASE ****_STOP!"_**

Pterano glanced up at the young flyer. His nephew was a clever one, but 'clever' wouldn't change his mind.

If Petrie thought Pterano was fast before, he was in for a whole new concept of speed. Pterano doubled his velocity. No more tricks. No more delay. He would vanish into the distance, and his nephew would be rid of him.

Petrie had never seen a flyer blaze through the air like that, but if Pterano could do it, perhaps so could he. Forgetting his mother's guidelines about stamina conservation, Petrie surged into his fastest flight yet. He wasn't gaining! He had to flap _harder! _**_Harder! _**His muscles sounded the alarm. He didn't care, until that alarm went into the red zone. He began to drop behind.

Worse yet, he began to drop.

**"UNCLE! **_**HELP!" **_Petrie screeched.

Pterano glanced at him. As though yanked by an invisible force, Pterano turned and shot towards his nephew.

The plummeting Petrie knew he'd done it. Grappling for air, his wings seemed to slip from the wind as gravity accelerated his fall beyond recovery. He couldn't save himself. Did the new Pterano even stand a chance of rescuing him? Of _course _he did!

He was _The Daybreaker!_

Dipping into a dive, Pterano caught up with Petrie, firm but gentle talons clasping around the youngster before cutting his fall and gliding towards a ridge near the top of a cliff where he set down the youngster.

"Thanks ..." panted Petrie.

Pterano nodded. "I assume you know your way back."

**"Wait! Hold on a second!"** Petrie quickly argued.

Not as quickly as Pterano launched into the sky.

**"IF YOU DON'T HELP ME, I'LL ****_DIE!" _**Petrie blurted.

The older flyer seemed to freeze mid-air before returning to the ledge. "No. You won't."

"Yes, I **_will!" _**Petrie insisted. "My friends and me have faced sharpteeth more times than I can remember! Red Claw would have caught Littlefoot and Cera today if I didn't distract him! I'm the weakest of my friends, but I _need _to be better, otherwise one of these days a sharptooth will get me and probably them because of it!"

Pterano shrugged. "The answer is simple. Refrain from leaving The Great Valley hereafter."

"It's _**not **_that simple!" asserted Petrie. "You weren't _there! _You don't know all the stuff that happens to us! Once we had to leave the valley to get a flower that would save Littlefoot's Grandpa! Once, swarming leaf gobblers ate all the green food and we needed to find a new place to live until it grew back! Once, we had to help a swimmer friend get back to The Big Water! Once, Littlefood had to go save his dad! Once-!"

"-I abducted Ducky and you went after me to save her," Pterano interrupted, breaking eye contact in shame.

Petrie nodded as he briefly looked at the ground. "Yeah, that. I know there have been many times when we left The Great Valley without a good enough reason, but it's clear it's going to keep happening, for good reasons too! One of these days, we're going to leave The Great Valley, and I might not make it back! Maybe _all _of us won't make it back if we're not strong enough!"

Pterano gave a long exhalation. "Very well. I shall train you."

In his excitement, Petrie sprang high into the air. Pterano had to grab him before he accidentally fell off the ledge.

"Heh heh, sorry," apologised Petrie. "When do we start?"

"That depends on if your mother approves," stated Pterano.

Both flyers gulped at the thought of her impending reaction.

"Right ... almost forgot about her," Petrie shuddered.

* * *

**Red Claw has been defeated, but the drama is far from over. Why did Chomper venture into The Mysterious Beyond? What on Earth was Red Claw's bizarre, vengeful tirade all about? How will Petrie's mother react? Stay posted, find out, and review.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	11. Chapter 11: Chomper's Choice

Chapter 11

Chomper's Choice

* * *

Skip sighed at the sight of the canyon that served as an entrance to The Great Valley. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's great to get back home to my boring, cosy little burrow."

Chomper halted, fiddling with his claws. "Um ... guys? I'm not going home."

The surprise of Spike's talkativeness was nothing compared to the abject shock induced by those words.

Littlefoot brightened a touch as his mind offered a palatable possibility. "... Oh, that's right. You wanted to join Ruby when she visited her parents ... right ...?"

Chomper shook his head.

The atmosphere grew thick as bubbling goop.

"... Um ... it's the food, right?" suggested Ducky. "It's getting harder to find enough as you get bigger, but we'll help you! We _will!"_

"It's ... that, but it's not _just_ that," Chomper sighed, visibly shaken by what he was about to share. "There's ... another Chomper. He scares me."

The leafeaters exchanged glances.

With a deep breath, the sharptooth continued.. "He's the Chomper who bit someone when I was a baby; the Chomper who _almost_ bit one of you guys maybe ten times this year: every time Cera snaps at me without warning; almost every time someone touches me when I don't expect it, or makes a sudden sound or a sudden movement. The moment he feels threatened, he wants to bite. He's the Chomper who thinks of eating whenever he sees a nest full of hatchlings, just 'cause they're vulnerable; who thinks of eating whenever he hears his friends' voices, or gets close enough to smell them. He's always there. He's always figuring out the best ways to hurt them. He always wants to pounce every time they turn their backs. He grew up with me. He used to be little, but now he's so big, I don't know what to do, and he's still growing! One day, I'm scared he'll be _**bigger **_than me!"

Tears filled Chomper's eyes as his gaze dropped to his feet.

"It's like ... it's like fighting Red Claw _**every. Single. Day."**_

Littlefoot's heart didn't 'sink'. It flat out crashed to the ground.

Frankly, Skip would have preferred to be anywhere but there at that stage. He didn't feel familiar enough with the youngsters to be qualified as a part of such a personal moment. However, he couldn't leave either, or ask if they would prefer that he excused himself. That would probably be insensitive.

"So ... _then _what?" asked Ducky.

Chomper furrowed his brow in determination. "I am _**not **_gonna be like Red Claw. I am _**not **_gonna let the other Chomper win! I just need ... someone to teach me how to be stronger than that Chomper."

"Well, you're in luck. You have **us," **Cera asserted. "We'll figure this out _together! _We always do."

"You guys ...? You guys are my _family!" _Chomper declared. "But I think I need another sharptooth on this one."

Cera raised an eyebrow. "Really? Okay. Um, just one question: **Where in the world are you gonna ****_FIND _****one?"**

She was being explosive, but in light of the situation, Cera felt entitled for some brashness.

**"How 'bout your **_**parents?" **_she went on. "Oh, that's right: **Your parents would ****_LOVE_**** it if the 'other Chomper' had some friends for dinner!"**

"Cera. You can _**stop **_now," Chomper half growled, glowering at her.

She glared back. "You know?** I honestly ****_don't care_**** whether or not you feel like biting me! ****_Red Claw _****bit me! Bring it ****_ON!_**** Besides, I've headbutted pretty much all of you on the odd occasion, but ****_who cares? _****We're ****_FAMILY!_**** Family ****_hurt _****each other, but they make up and ****_ALWAYS_**** figure things out in the end!"**

Cera's face contorted as tears reached the brim of her eyes. Not now. She had to be tough. She had to yell some sense into Chomper's skull. It wouldn't be nearly as effective if he saw her melting to a mushy mess. Well ... there was no stopping it, so why not make the best of it?

"Chomper ... _please _don't go ..." Cera begged through watery eyes. "If you go, you'll ... you'll tear a big chunk out of _all _of us!"

The sharptooth's heart broke at the sight of her. There wasn't a dry eye among them, and he was no exception.

"D-don't worry. I'll be back," he declared. "I've met a flyer who visited a place where sharpteeth and leafeaters get along. At least, that's what it looked like from a distance. He saw fast biters living alongside leafeaters of many kinds, but he didn't want to get too close to them. Maybe they can teach me."

"What 'place'?" Littlefoot asked almost numbly.

Chomper hesitated. "It's called, um ... Hidden Valley."

Those words hit everyone like a jolt.

"You mean the valley The Great Earthshake pulled into the _**ground?"**_ asked Ducky.

"The valley leafeaters either _**get to **_or _**disappear trying **_even before that?"added Cera.

"The valley they say's haunted by _**hidden runners?" **_Skip chipped in.

Littlefoot thought for a moment. "Well, it's not like hidden runners are dangerous. We saw one once, after all ... unless we made a mistake. That runner could blend in with green food, although you could still see him, and he wasn't a threat like the ones from the legends. Maybe that wasn't a 'hidden runner' after all. Maybe the _real _hidden runners are something much worse."

Chomper shrugged. "Well, I'm a bigbiter sharptooth who's growing to be way bigger than most. It doesn't get much 'worse' than that."

With a sigh, Littlefoot leaned towards the sharptooth, his head at an angle.

Chomper winced back, recognising the gesture. He'd explained it to Littlefoot. Translated from the sharptooth tongue, it signified deepest trust, deepest love, deepest friendship, deepest brotherhood. With so many meanings, he simply called it 'The Deepest', and it was shared between sharpteeth with the strongest bonds imaginable. In that position, a sharptooth's neck was vulnerable, representing absolute confidence that the other sharptooth would not take advantage of that. It was almost sacred, so entrenched in sharptooth identity that most of them believed it never needed to be explained. If another sharptooth was _truly _worthy of The Deepest, they would know what it meant and return it by instinct. But ... was Chomper _really_ worthy, he wondered? After all he'd said, did Littlefoot _actually _trust him in such a vulnerable position?

Yes ... Apparently, he did.

The sharptooth pressed his temple against the longneck's, holding the position for one long, heartfelt moment.

"We will always be your friends," Littlefoot assured.

_"Best _friends. I'll be back," Chomper repeated as he finally ended The Deepest.

"We should go with you," stated Littlefoot.

Chomper shook his head. "It's a long trip, longer than you've ever travelled. Besides, I think I'll be there for a while, but at least there are four rivers on the way to guide me. I'll be able to keep up my strength with fish instead of ... other things ..."

Ducky frowned as a thought hit her. "Wait a minute ... what about Ruby?"

"'What about Ruby' is exactly what I'm thinking about," came a familiar voice.

Chomper nearly jumped out of his scales before turning. "Um ... h-_heey,_ Ruby!"

"You know you're taking me with you, right?" asked a rather miffed Ruby. "'Cause 'with you' is the only right place for me to be."

Chomper made to argue.

She cut him off. "Okay then. What happens if your parents find out you left and I didn't leave with you? What happens will be _anything_ but okay, then!"

The young sharptooth flinched. "Good point."

A twinge of sadness wrinkled Ruby's face before she gave the others a bittersweet smile. Living up to the name of her species, the fast runner practically raced to each of them, dispensing quick, snug hugs.

Cera almost rolled her eyes as Ruby latched onto her. Great. More hugs.

Looking over her friends one last time, Ruby sighed as the nostalgia hit like a tsunami. "It has been fun, hasn't it been?"

"It has, it has," Ducky agreed with a sniffle.

As sharptooth and fast runner turned to leave, Ruby gave the final farewell.

"Goodbye, my friends. My friends, goodbye." she waved.

A profusion of goodbyes followed, petering out nearly as quickly as it began. The gang watched until Chomper and Ruby's tails disappeared around a corner, taking a moment to shake off the emotional fatigue.

Cera mumbled something about crying herself to sleep. The way Littlefoot glanced at her, she realised it had reached his ears.

"Listen ol' buddy, ol' pal," she threatened. "I don't know what you _think _you heard, but you'd better not breathe a word about it to anyone."

"Breathe a word about what?" asked Littlefoot.

Cera gave a dull smile. "Good boy."

With heavy steps, they returned to the valley that marked the beginning and end of their journeys countless times.

This time, they returned a gang of five.

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**Thank you for taking the time to read this story. Stay tuned for more.**


	12. Chapter 12: Red Claw's Masters

**By the way, I decided to add a reference to the song 'Bestest Friends' to the last chapter, thanks to the guest who brought it to mind. Speaking of which, thanks for the review and idea (if you're reading this)! I can't believe I forgot that song! It's one of the better ones, in my opinion.**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

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_"Some say that these stones can shine light without heat.__" _

_"__Some believe they can give powers far beyond our comprehension, heal the sick and other miracles."_

\- the male and female Rainbow Face respectively.

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Chapter 12

Red Claw's Masters

Heavy rain descended upon The Mysterious Beyond. Scarcely scent or sound travelled far, drowned out by the pattering water. However, if one stepped just close enough to Red Claw's cave, they might have heard the clamour of the two fast biters within it.

Screech and Thud darted about like manic hatchlings, licking everything that struck their fancy. Those unfamiliar with their species might have found the scene mind boggling and perhaps even hilarious, but with every lick they released territorial chemicals that marked the spot or item as their own. Hours had passed and Red Claw had yet to return. It seemed only logical that the tyrant had fallen to the paws of children of all things, which left his cave and all underneath it as theirs to claim, from his coveted assortment of gnawing bones and the spring water collected in multiple areas to the best spots for naps where the cold wind and eyes of a potential intruder were least likely to find them. The fast biters were somewhat respectful of each other's claims, even if said respect was teetering on the edge of an all-out feud, hissy fits and all. The final straw came when Screech's gaze fell on one thing in particular and his turf tizzy came to an abrupt pause.

Confused, Thud followed his gaze. He too stilled. Before the fast biters was Red Claw's giant nest. Its border was an ominous structure, forged from the broken trunks of the toughest trees only one so mighty as Red Claw could dismember. The interior was a mystery irrelevant to them. That nest was a statement, a symbol of power. In their haste, they hadn't considered the nest as fair game until then. It still emanated the overpowering scent that was Red Claw's, demanding that they never, ever, _ever, _lay a claw on it.

Thud exhaled. It didn't feel right, claiming Red Claw's most personal belonging so soon after his demise. Tempting as it was, his every instinct told him to steer clear of it. He was sure his hunting partner felt the same.

Screech shoved him to the ground before making good on his head start to rush the nest.

A snarling Thud raged to his feet and took off after Screech. Forget instincts! If _anyone _was to inherit the nest, **it would be ****_HIM!_**

Perched on the edge, Screech was frantically licking the border when Thud pounced him and the two tumbled into the ... soft ... _sssoooofft_ ... bedding.

Momentarily forgetting their aggression, the fast biters rolled apart and lay on their backs as their muscles turned to jelly and jaws hung in shock.

After a few seconds, Screech voiced his thoughts: What. In. The. World? How, and furthermore _why,_ had such an ill-tempered sharptooth made a nest this comfortable? If anything, he expected Red Claw to sleep on thorns, just because he could!

Thud gave no response.

Screech turned to see the other fast biter quietly, quickly, licking the edges of the nest.

**NO, Screech roared! This was ****_his _****territory! He'd already claimed it!**

Between licks, Thud argued that it still smelled like Red Claw. It wouldn't belong to anyone until their scent had completely replaced the alpha's.

Without wasting a second, Screech got to work marking as much of the nest as possible.

In their hurry, neither fast biter noticed the massive form limping into the cave, his earth-shaking footfalls mitigated by the pouring sky water. Upon reaching the nest, he paused at the sight of what transpired within it.

Finally, Screech sensed the presence. He spun around to squawk in shock at the sight of a battered, tired but nonetheless _very_ angry Red Claw.

The fast biters feet scarcely seemed to touch the ground as they practically flew out of the nest and deep into the cave without thinking. By the time they realised they had charged into a corner, Red Claw had ample time to block their exit. The fast biters cowered. Much to their surprise, Red Claw simply plopped himself into his nest, glaring at nothing in particular ... with what was left of his vision. He seemed content enough with his nest, but they wouldn't take their chances. It was not uncommon for Red Claw to play mind games with his victims.

As the fast biters stepped back further into the darkness, the shadows seemed to glide forth. Thud was first to notice. Was he seeing things? Screech's startled gasp confirmed the reality. The fast biters dropped into a hasty bow.

They had very important guests.

Red Claw caught movement at the side of his eye. He whirled to face it, snarling that **those fast biters had some ****_nerve_**** to approach him after-!**

He came to an abrupt stop as he laid eyes on the entity. Appearing to congeal from the shadows was a creature with the form of a fast biter, and a reputation bordering on the supernatural. Scales so dark that they seemed to soak up all light that reached them, the being didn't flinch at the giant's voice. Some called Red Claw 'King of the Sharpteeth'. He was nothing of the sort. At least, not in the presence of a being such as this.

Not in the presence of a hidden runner.

Red Claw's nostrils flared. He'd heard the legends. He'd glimpsed enough confirmation to know that many, if not all, could well be true. However, he refused to bow. This was _his _cave. They were not welcome, _especially_ then.

The tyrant growled for them to leave. They could bother him some other time.

Screech and Thud drew sharp breaths. Had ... had Red Claw _actually _said that?

Ignoring Red Claw's disrespect, the hidden runner looked the tyrant up and down. Silently, he circled the giant, examining the injuries. Red Claw decided to behave himself for the moment. When the silence grew intolerable, he dared flick his tail at the being as though shooing a fly. Not a second later, he hissed as multiple unseen jaws with atypically sharp teeth stung his tail. A warning. The tyrant growled as the toothed shadows withdrew, inwardly chastising himself for letting a tremour reach his voice. Intuition told him that which sight failed to inform him.

They had him surrounded.

Finally, the hidden runner spoke: How. Could. Red. Claw. **Jeopardise** **_EVERYTHING, _****for some ****_SILLY _****vendetta with Littlefoot and his friends?**

Red Claw's heart pounded, though his gaze held fast. The hidden runner bore the menacing presence of a creature many times a fast biter's size. Never had he heard such a being raise their voice. Red Claw was glad he wasn't a feathered sharptooth. Otherwise, every plume would be standing on end.

Though the hidden runner's tone softened for a moment, it carried the palpable tension of a storm poised to unleash sky fire. There wasn't supposed to be a battle, explained the being. The prophesies foretold a 'Great Feast', not a 'Great War'. On the cusp of a new world, _why _would Red Claw blurt to the leafeaters **_THE _****SINGULAR, best kept secret of ****_ALL_**** SHARPTOOTH KIND? Did he think the hidden runners wouldn't find out? Did he forget that they had eyes everywhere, or was he so fixated on petty revenge that he** **_completely_**** lost his senses? Even so, they were ****_THERE! _****They ****_witnessed _****his humiliation firsthand!** **Those 'children' were infamous ****_Life Circle Breakers!_**** After that mistake, Littlefoot had been assigned the threat level of 'Smoky Mountain'! In a few years, they might have to reassign him as ****_'Burning Mountain'!_**

At that, Red Claw roared indignantly. **That was the height of ****_absurdity!_**** Powerful though he was, one longneck could ****_not _****amount to a natural disaster! What manner of stupidity would lead them to label him a threat even ****_The Lone Dinosaur _****could never become!**

The hidden runner exhaled, his anger turning to disappointment. Very well. He would educate him, starting with a question. Why did Red Claw think the hidden runner pack dubbed itself as such?

Why did they bear the name of 'Black Claw'?

Red Claw snorted, admitting that he had no idea but he couldn't care less. Perhaps they were unable to count.

The tyrant half roared, half shrieked as something crashed into his side. It had to be big: bigger than _he _was. Shock twisted his features as he turned to see a horde of black raptors latched onto him. With all their pounces colliding at once, it was enough to send him crashing to the stone floor.

He was quick to his feet, fear tainting his snarls as the creatures raced around him like a whirlwind of living shadows. Forget the hierarchy. He was fighting for his life!

The shadows parted as Red Claw charged into their midst. Then they converged around him in tsunamis of darkness, like the jaws of a beast far bigger than he could hope to overcome. The synchronised pounce forced the air from his aching body. Red Claw's legs faltered. He fought to rise, but their weight was tremendous, claws and teeth attacking every foot of his hide.

Screech and Thud watched in horror as Red Claw collapsed into a mass of raging shadows.

Just when the tyrant was sure he was moments from the end, the hidden runners withdrew in the blink of an eye. There he lay, panting and petrified

Standing before the giant's muzzle, the hidden runner alpha waited a moment for Red Claw to collect himself ... somewhat. Then he asserted the point: They weren't 'Black Claws'. They were 'Black **_Claw': _**many individuals acting as _**one**_ entity. They had bonded and trained with each other to the point where working together wasn't second nature. It was _first nature._ Littlefoot understood that concept.

It was The Wisdom of Friends.

Ordinarily, Red Claw would have scoffed at the notion of 'friends', but he was in no state to take Black Claw lightly.

The alpha continued: The Lone Dinosaur was an isolated anomaly. He kept hunters on their toes so that their minds remained sharp as their teeth. The Lone Dinosaur was good for The Circle of Life, because there was only one Lone Dinosaur. Likewise was the Daybreaker. Littlefoot was something entirely different: a fledgling legend with a combination of intelligence and leadership seldom seen in a leafeater. At a tender age, he coordinated the demise of Sharptooth where all others failed. It wasn't dumb luck. Time and time again, that Circle Breaker and his friends had outwitted or eluded sharpteeth of every kind, including Red Claw. Now, warriors were rising up around him. Word had already come that his friends were considering training of their own! Would it stop there? Red Claw had threatened the Circle Breaker's entire sphere of life! Could he picture a _valley _full of Lone Dinosaurs, **because that was ****_EXACTLY _****what the worst case scenario looked like! It was like Hidden Valley ****_all over again!_**

Red Claw's eyes briefly drifted to the ground. The weight of his mistake finally hit him, but he refused to admit the extent of the blow. Nonetheless, Red Claw ventured to ask why the hidden runners didn't deal with the kids? They were there during the battle, after all.

Most leafeaters thought hidden runners to be a myth, the alpha explained. It was tactically vital that they keep it that way, especially with The Great Feast on the horizon. They would only eliminate the children if, beyond the shadow of a doubt, there would be no survivors or witnesses to tell the tale. The two flyers could have escaped and warned The Great Valley. Littlefoot and his friends would surely be more careful after the fight. The hidden runners would keep a small party watching for an opportunity, but their presence was constantly in demand for other matters. It was _**Red Claw's **_job to monitor The Great Valley! **They shouldn't be having this conversation!**

The alpha's mane of feathers, risen like hackles, smoothed as his anger receded. Then again, why should The Hunter's Bond expect better from a rogue, asked the hidden runner?

Unexpectedly, that question struck a chord in Red Claw. The youngsters broke him. Pterano half-blinded him. There was no hope of a full recovery. He had failed. What use did they have for him, except to tie up loose ends?

Red Claw raised his head with one last shred of dignity and hardened his gaze, prepared to meet his fate.

The Black Claw alpha tilted his head before throbbing a chuckle.

When the teeth and claws never came, Red Claw cracked an eyelid to see two subordinate hidden runners stepping forward, gingerly carrying an object about half their size. The tyrant frowned in thought. Even in the poor lighting, he could see its metallic sheen, the likes of which he had never seen. Small protrusions allowed them to grasp it with their jaws. The moment they set it down, the protrusions withdrew and it became a perfect sphere.

Red Claw leaned forward to sniff it. Stranger still, it emanated a hum that sent tingles through his muzzle in response to his closeness.

The bemused sharptooth drew back, asking what this bizarre little object could possibly be.

It was the power to rise from the brink of death time and time again, purred the alpha. It was the preternatural strength and speed his father once enjoyed. It was a gift from The Great Guardians: a Stone of Cold Fire, more specifically a 'Silver Miracle'.

Red Claw's wide-eyed curiosity was almost akin to that of a hatchling.

Once again, the alpha throbbed. It recognised itself as destined for Red Claw, which was why it reacted to him. If it _didn't _react, well ... Black Claw knew what to do with a broken, uncooperative rogue with no future.

The implication sent a chill down Red Claw's spine, but his attention quickly returned to the object. So, what was the purpose of this 'Silver Miracle', he inquired?

Why not touch it and find out, asked the alpha?

A moment's hesitation and Red Claw tentatively lowered himself to the orb. The hidden runners stepped back as it hummed to life. He was mere inches from contact when ...

... It happened.

The orb exploded into blue and white flames. Red Claw reared back with a frightened cry as the flames raged towards him. Hidden runners scattered when he crashed into a wall, engulfed by the inferno. With every frantic breath, fire poured down his throat, but it didn't burn. It was cold, colder than anything he could imagine. It was permeating his lungs, his blood, his bones, his every fiber. A new sensation quickly emerged from the abject pain. It felt ... it felt ...

**It felt ****_wonderful!_**

Red Claw boomed a roar that shook the cave as the process reached its crescendo. Even in his prime, never had his voice been so rich, so _powerful!_

Screech and Thud were rapt with wonder while the hidden runners watched in the most nuanced of awe.

The Cold Fire vanished into Red Claw's body. He flexed his muscles. There were no aches, no sign that he had been in a battle. The eyesight Pterano's claws had claimed was restored. No ... not simply restored. He couldn't recall his vision being this sharp. Had every aspect of his body been likewise improved? Red Claw shattered a stalagmite with his tail.

He felt as strong as he'd ever been, if not _more!_

Examining himself, Red Claw remarked on the lack of any visible injury! Wait ... did that mean his old scar had disappeared? He couldn't see it from that angle! **That scar was his ****_signature!_**

The Black Claw alpha rolled his eyes but nonetheless assured Red Claw that the scar was still there.

With a pleased snort, Red Claw commented that The Great Guardians truly knew what they were doing.

Yes, agreed the alpha, but it was clear that Red Claw did _not. _In any event, the Hunters' Bond was assigning him advanced retraining.

_More training,_ Red Claw rumbled? He grew up a _rogue! _What more could they teach him that the wilds of The Mysterious beyond hadn't imparted!

Exhaling in annoyance, the alpha repeated that that was _precisely the point. _He was one of the mightiest rogues in all the land, but his father had fallen to children, even with a Silver Miracle! Until he learnt The Wisdom of Friendship, chief among other things, he would never reach his full potential.

Red Claw's eyes snapped to Screech and Thud. The fast biters drew back. He hadn't forgiven them for abandoning him, but it seemed the ultimate punishment was no longer an option. What a pity.

What would they have him do, asked Red Claw? Scrounge up some of the lesser, smaller sharpteeth and frolic around The Mysterious Beyond, singing sweet, happy songs every five heartbeats?

Thud chuffed a snicker. Screech nudged him to be quiet, but there was no hiding the amusement on his face. Yup, that pretty much summed up Littlefoot and his friends ... before The Time of Great Growing, more so.

Ignoring the last part, the alpha replied that he wouldn't have to 'find' more sharpteeth. They had already done that. He called out to unseen ears.

Soon, four massive forms emerged from the veil of rain at the cave's entrance.

Red Claw's eyes widened. They were hardly the 'lesser' sharpteeth he imagined. Each was a rogue, and even the female, belonging to a usually smaller kind, was startlingly close to his eye level ... and rather fetching, he had to admit.

The tyrant purred. Well, well, well, what a day this turned out to be! The fangs of seven, at his command!

Brandishing her horns, the female snapped that he held no power over them. Not _yet. _He would have to _earn _the status of alpha.

The tyrant blinked, digesting her feisty retort before grinning. This was going to be _fun._

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**Looks like Red Claw's ended up with his own Gang of Seven. How will The Gang of Five, two members short, fare against them? With no training to date, how will Ducky, Spike and Petrie hold a candle? What is 'The Great Feast'? What are 'The Great Guardians'? Review, share your thoughts, stay posted and find out.**

**Thanks for reading!**


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